Andy Green during a hydrogen-powered JCB speed run at Bonneville Salt Flats, August 2026. Courtesy of JCB Andy Green OBE, the land-speed world record holder at 763.035 mph and the only person to have gone supersonic in a car, is not one to lean on laurels. This past week, he took a hydrogen-powered car, the JCB Hydromax, to 406.320 mph, eclipsing the old record of 350.092 mph for that class of vehicle. The test occurred at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats near Wendover, Nevada. Why Bonneville and not out on the Black Rock Desert mud flats where he had set his 1997 record in the ThrustSSC? “In this run, instead of solid metal roller wheels on the jet-powered car, we used rubber tires. For that we needed a salt-surface with more grip than dried mud,” says Green. “So driving a 5,500-lb car through the engine, clutch, gear box, etc., is more complex - and actually more demanding for me as pilot. It was also more fun.”
Andy Green in his record-setting JCB Hydromax vehicle. Mike Schalk Green, 64, went on to say that the 5.5-mile-long test was not just for a record per se, but to push forward the science of hydrogen-powered vehicles. The 1,600-hp Hydromax, when running, emits only water - hydrogen and oxygen - as a byproduct, and no hydrocarbons like regular cars to pollute the environment. "We’re testing technologies with real-world implications,” says Green. “What we learn here on the track ultimately can be used on public roads someday.” As a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot, Green is no stranger to speed. He had achieved Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound) in his F-4 Phantom and F-3 Tornado aircraft while in the British military. That experience with jet engines helped him greatly build and drive the jet-powered ThrustSSC.
Andy Green testing the JCB Hydromax vehicle, Bonneville Salt Flats, August 2026. Courtesy of JCB JCB sponsored Green’s hydrogen test. The 32-foot-long car is sleek and aerodynamically efficient to lessen air resistance at sea level, where the atmosphere is thicker than up high in a plane. To achieve his Mach 2, for example, Green was 40,000 feet above ground. JCB is building a $500-million factory in San Antonio, Texas, its second U.S. plant, to further research and build hydrogen-powered vehicles.
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This article was originally published on Forbes.com