There is fast, and then there is what JCB Hydromax achieved with its hydrogen-powered car on Tuesday.The twin-engined, 32-foot car completed two runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats, recording an average speed of 400.623 mph in it’s first run, and going 412.135 mph on it’s second run.The average speed of 406.320 mph set the world land speed record, and is the fastest a hydrogen-powered internal combustion car has ever traveled, shattering the previous mark of 185.5 mph set by the BMW H2R in 2004.The record is subject to official confirmation by the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA).CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMJCB Hydromax team celebrates after record-setting run at the Bonneville Salt Flats on Aug.
11, 2026.(Courtesy of JCB)Wing Commander Andy Green, OBE, who drove the car, called the record an "extraordinary" engineering achievement."This is the first of a new breed.
They have created a new class at Bonneville Speed Week for hydrogen racing, the internal combustion engine.And it's not only a new class, but it's also blown every other hydrogen car out of the water with this record," Green told Fox News Digital in a recent interview.Green said the process to get a car up to 400 mph normally takes about three to five years.
JCB Hydromax only had its first design meeting just over a year ago."JCB, by comparison, just over a year ago sat down for their first design meeting with their project team to work out how they were going to do this.They had nine months to design and manufacture components.
They built the car in five weeks, tested it for three weeks in the UK and then came straight to Bonneville with the aim of setting a record on their first visit in a brand new car using new technology, which these hydrogen engines they're running," Green said."They were running them at a perfect fuel ratio, which no one had ever built for a hydrogen engine.This is unique technology."Green said the professionals who do this year in a...