Andy Green sets hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph
Andy Green broke the land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle, reaching 406 mph.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
British former fighter pilot Andy Green has set a new land speed record for a hydrogen-powered car, reaching 406.320 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The run, which took place on Tuesday, broke the previous mark of 185 mph and smashed Green's own diesel record of just over 350 mph set 20 years ago.
The car, named Hydromax, was designed and built by construction equipment firm JCB. It is powered by two hydrogen engines, each developed from a digger engine and producing around 800 horsepower. The vehicle is 32 feet long and weighs 5,500 pounds. JCB built the car in five weeks and tested it for three before bringing it to the famous salt flats.
Green, who in 1997 became the first person to break the sound barrier in a car, said the team had hoped to reach 400 mph but the car exceeded expectations. He said he actually had to lift off the accelerator during the measured mile because the car had hit its limiting speed. Only five of the six gears were used, and the engines were turned down, meaning there was more in reserve.
The achievement is seen as a demonstration of hydrogen as a zero-carbon fuel. JCB is developing hydrogen-powered diggers, and Green argued that for heavy machinery, hydrogen offers a practical alternative to electric batteries, which are heavy and slow to charge. The only emission from the car is water.
Green said he was proud to be part of the team and thanked the local community and the Southern California Timing Association. He said he would now come back to Bonneville to watch other people race.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| Andy Green set a new land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle at over 406 mph. | ||
| The car used only five of six gears and the engines were not at full power during the record run. | · | |
| The car was built in five weeks and tested for three weeks in the UK before being taken to Bonneville. | · | |
| The car was powered by two hydrogen engines, each producing 800 horsepower. | · | |
| The car's only emission is water. | · | |
| The previous hydrogen land speed record was 185 mph. | · | |
| The run also beat the previous diesel land speed record of over 350 mph. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News provided an extensive interview with Andy Green, focusing on the technical details of the car, the development process, and the broader case for hydrogen as a future fuel. The tone was celebratory and analytical, with Green explaining the engineering and his personal experience at speed.
- “It's been a successful day. It's been a successful couple of weeks. It's been a successful year.”
- “We had, in our wildest dreams, thought we might get up to 400 miles an hour. That's what happened today.”
- “This is a genuine zero-carbon solution for the construction industry.”
BBC ONE West delivered a concise news report highlighting the record-breaking speed and the green credentials of hydrogen. It used a short clip of Green explaining that he had to slow down because the car hit its limit, and stressed that the only emission was water.
- “The only emission here? Water.”
- “During the two record runs today, I actually had to lift off the accelerator and actually slow down through the measured mile because we'd hit our limiting speed.”
- “I think that's called smashing it.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.