Construction Giant JCB Targeting Motorsport History With Pioneering Technology... Again

Diggers and other construction machinery aren't what are usually associated with speed, but then British company JCB is no ordinary manufacturer.

In 2006, the company took its production diesel engines onto the world motorsport stage when it set a new diesel land speed record of 350.092mph [563.418kph] with its Dieselmax machine, piloted by former RAF Wing Commander Andy Green - a benchmark that remains intact to this day.

Twenty years later, JCB will return to the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, to try and add another record to its name - but this time with a pioneering hydrogen-powered car - and Grand Prix on SI was invited to the launch.

Blink and you’ll miss it. Introducing JCB Hydromax, JCB's answer to speed and sustainability. pic.twitter.com/XwkSxSElFh
— JCB (@JCBmachines) May 12, 2026

The Hydromax explained

To many, the new Hydromax may look similar to its predecessor, but in reality, it is a new car from the ground up.

There are two JCB production hydrogen engines, one placed at the front and one at the back, combining to produce 1600 bhp, with power distributed to all four wheels. There is a six-speed transmission to boot.

The cockpit is centrally located, 450mm forward of the position on the Dieselmax.

Cooling is critical, but with traditional radiators being aerodynamically inefficient and adding too much weight, the car will instead be cooled by two separate ice tanks. The first is at the nose of the vehicle, while underneath the nose, salt ducts work to help reduce unwanted drag from the unique terrain at Bonneville.

New tires have been developed in collaboration with Goodyear to mitigate limitations present in 2006, while improved NACA ducts will further help cool the dual engines without compromising aero efficiency. Traditional speed run parachutes will be deployed to slow the car down, but Hydromax will also utilize aerospace-grade brakes to ensure Green slows safely.

JCB Hydromax, Lord Bamford — Lord Bamford, JCB chairman, with the Hydromax. | JCB

So the question is, why attempt another speed record when the diesel benchmark still stands proud?

At the Hydromax launch event, attended by Grand Prix on SI, JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford explained: "Why not?

"It is a good way of showing the improvements in technology, but particularly in hydrogen, and showing hydrogen working at extreme temperature. I think it's a good way to show to our customers that they've got engines which they would probably only do 30 miles an hour with.

"But it's also good because we sell engines to other people, and I think it shows the stretch there is in our emissions."

Asked why he was reinvolving himself with JCB's speed endeavours, Green said: "It was a huge privilege 20 years ago to help the JCB team to take two JCB digger engines, put the turbos in the intercoolers, make all of that work in a race car, and take 18 horsepower engines, now delivering 750 each, up to 350 miles an hour, and a new FIA world land speed record, which still today is the fastest diesel car in history using these engines.

"I still find that mind-blowing. I'm very proud to have done that, but now we've got the chance to do something even more remarkable, because JCB has looked at the future of the construction industry and said, this isn't about burning distilled dinosaurs anymore, there's got to be something better for the future, and part of that mix is going to be hydrogen, an important part.

Did you know? Andy Green OBE, #Bloodhound #BloodhoundSSC driver, also broke the diesel land speed record in the JCB Dieselmax car! pic.twitter.com/SaZlnJduI9
— JCB (@JCBmachines) October 26, 2017

"So we're going to take two hydrogen engines, which have now been souped up to 800 horsepower each, 1,600 horsepower total in the car, for any driver that's respectable amount, and aim to break that 350-mile-an-hour FIA world land speed record, and in doing so, to genuinely have a zero-emissions race car as part of the mix of the future, if not the future, of motorsport.

"And to give you a simple example of that, the regulators out for one of the SpeedWeek, the largest speed meet in the world, the oldest speed meet in the world, they are creating a new class for this car.

"It's not going to be an entry of one, this is, they think, as do we, this is going to be the first of many race cars, because hydrogen internal combustion is a part of the future, and it's a part of the racing future, just as it is the construction industry.

"So we get to go out there and showcase great British engineering and technology on a global stage, with two JCB digger engines, at 350 miles an hour."

JCB's United States expansion

The record attempt in the United States comes at a time when JCB is gearing up to open a new $500 million, one-million-square-foot factory in San Antonio, Texas, which will support the company's expansion in the US market. The facility will employ 1,500 people and manufacture machines for the US consumers.

JCB Hydromax, Bonneville Salt Flats | JCB

Noting the commercial impact of the challenge in the US, JCB deputy chairman George Bamford explained: "The US is all about speed and automotive. If you look at what happened with the automotive industry and how it's always been forefront in the US, for me, this is one of those products.

"It is going to be amazing for JCB in America, because it is one of those things, it's the challenger. America loves the challenge, and they always love someone rising to that challenge, so I think this is an amazing product for that, but also for us in America.

"You think about all the platforms, you think about everything we're going to communicate on, we're going to give people everything. I love there's an amazing video of Andy with your eyes that just get wider and wider and wider whilst you're driving along, because it's kind of you going, I can't wait to see that on this.

"This is going to be exciting, because we're going to give you that exciting feel, and also you're going to know the characters along the way. That's what we're hoping to do for everyone to discover."

Such a project would usually take a considerable timeframe to plan, develop, produce and execute. Yet for JCB, from birth to launch has been under a year, with the development kicking off in June 2025 after engineering director Ryan Ballard was given the idea by Lord Bamford in February.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Hydromax is that the engines are the same hydrogen units used in the company's current construction range, which will require only three kilograms of hydrogen to power during its record-breaking run. So how will they power a speed demon?

JCB Hydrogen engine — JCB's Hydrogen engine on display at the Hydromax launch event. | Ewan Gale

"There's a huge amount of technical input that's gone into that. How to put more fuel into the engines, how to put more air into the engines," explained Ballard.

"They are essentially JCB production hydrogen engines. That is the core of the engine, the cylinder head, the block, the crankshaft, all the main parts of the engine are, let's say, standard JCB parts. We've just pushed them a little harder.

"There are a couple of areas where we've changed a couple of materials because of some high temperatures, but the vast majority are pretty standard from our hydrogen production engines.

"It just shows the potential, the strength, the reliability that's there in those engines, which is essential for our customers. They rely on our products to work day in, day out, so our engines have to be robust."

So when does the Hydromax hit the track? Chief engineer Lee Harper explained: "We'll roll out in June, we'll go through the initial commissioning and low-speed testing here in the UK.

"A big part of that, as Ryan says, is correlating data. So we go through and make sure that the models and simulations meet the actual and what we experience in the real world.

"And from there we start to build up speed, very simply. Build up speed, gain confidence, take it to a program and work our way to setting a record."

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