A British driver who became the first person to break the sound barrier on land has set a new speed record, this time in a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
At the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, 64-year-old retired Royal Air Force pilot Andy Green reached 406 mph (654 km/h), the fastest speed ever recorded by a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
Green's record was calculated as the average of two runs in JCB's Hydromax, which is powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines producing a combined 1,600 brake horsepower (bhp), according to the BBC.
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Green became the first—and remains the only—person to break the sound barrier on land in 1997, when he drove the jet-powered ThrustSSC across Nevada's Black Rock Desert at 763 mph (1,228 km/h).
Green also holds the world land-speed record for a diesel-powered vehicle. Twenty years ago, he drove JCB's Dieselmax to a speed of more than 350 mph (563 km/h).
The new Hydromax record more than doubled the previous official hydrogen combustion land-speed record of 185.5 mph, set in 2004.
“Setting a world land speed record with hydrogen power, 20 years after Dieselmax, is a huge privilege. This record is a huge achievement by a world-class team and superb technology,” Green said.
Last month, Green said his wife's encouragement was crucial in persuading him to take on the challenge after he received a call from JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford.
“Twenty years ago we came to Bonneville with JCB Dieselmax and showed what British engineering could do with diesel power. Today we have done it again—this time with engines powered by hydrogen,” Bamford said.
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JCB developed the Hydromax in an attempt to set a new land-speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle.
In May, the Hydromax reached 208 mph (335 km/h) during testing at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire.
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