British driver smashes world's fastest land speed record with 406 MPH hydrogen-powered car

A British driver has officially blown past the world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, hitting an incredible average speed of 406.320 mph (653.908 km/h) out on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

As reported by ABC news, retired Royal Air Force Pilot Wing Commander Andy Green has added another major achievement to his remarkable career, setting a new world record.

Green, who is the only person to have broken the sound barrier on land, reached an average speed of 406.320 mph (653.908 km/h) while driving the JCB Hydromax.

To secure the record, Green completed two runs in opposite directions, recording speeds of 400.623 mph and 412.135 mph in accordance with Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile FIA rules.

The 32-foot-long Hydromax is powered by two production-based hydrogen internal combustion engines developed from JCB’s construction machinery engines, delivering around 1,600 horsepower with zero emissions.

 Green’s latest achievement smashed the previous hydrogen internal combustion record of 185.5 mph, set by BMW in 2004.

It also surpassed his own diesel land-speed record of 350.092 mph, which he set with JCB at the same salt flats in 2006.

The new record comes almost two decades after Green and JCB made history with their diesel-powered streamliner.

Green remains the outright land-speed record holder after reaching 763.035 mph in the ThrustSSC in 1997, becoming the first and only person to break the sound barrier on land.

This milestone comes almost exactly 20 years after the exact same team set the world diesel land speed record.

JCB who is partner with the Aston Martin Formula One team, started the project in June 2025 with Prodrive, Ricardo and Xtrac.

The company has invested 100 million pounds to develop hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines and is using the Hydromax project to promote the green-engined diggers rolling off production lines.

"Bonneville is the spiritual home of the World Land Speed Record, and Hydromax has just written itself into that history," said Green. "The car was magnificent, stable, strong and fast. To set a world record with hydrogen, 20 years after Dieselmax, is a privilege."

The record run came ahead of JCB opening a new $500 million factory in San Antonio, Texas, to make machines for the U.S. market.