JCB boss blasts Labour and Tories as British engineering smashes 406mph hydrogen record

British engineering delivers a spectacular world record

British engineering has delivered a spectacular demonstration of what hydrogen technology can achieve, with JCB's Hydromax smashing the world land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle at an astonishing 406.320mph.

The 1,597bhp machine, driven by record-breaking racer Andy Green, completed two runs across Utah's famous Bonneville Salt Flats, recording 400.623mph in one direction and an extraordinary 412.135mph on the return. Under FIA rules, the two speeds were averaged to establish the official record.

The achievement is a huge boost for JCB's argument that hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines should not be dismissed as outdated technology.

Bamford: ‘British engineering at its best’

JCB chairman Lord Anthony Bamford watched the record attempt from the salt flats and was visibly thrilled as the Hydromax thundered across the course.

He hailed the achievement as “British engineering at its best” and argued that the record demonstrated that hydrogen could provide a genuine alternative to conventional fuels while retaining the internal combustion engine.

Bamford said the technology produces no emissions at the point of use, with water the principal exhaust product, and insisted that internal combustion engines are not necessarily old-fashioned when combined with new technology.

His argument is particularly significant because the future of petrol and diesel-powered engines has become one of the most fiercely contested issues in Britain's energy and transport debate.

‘Britain is in a real mess’

But Bamford had considerably less enthusiasm when asked about the country in which JCB was founded and remains headquartered.

Asked whether Britain was still a good place to do business, the JCB chairman gave a blunt answer: “Yes and no. It could be a hell of a lot better.”

He then went further, warning that Britain was “in a real mess” and making clear that he did not believe the Conservatives could escape responsibility.

Bamford said the problem was not simply the current Labour government, arguing that the Conservatives had also failed to do enough during their 14 years in power.

It was a remarkable intervention from one of Britain's best-known industrialists — particularly on the same day his company was demonstrating on the other side of the world what British manufacturing and engineering can achieve.

A warning to both sides of Westminster

Bamford's criticism effectively landed on both major parties.

Rather than blaming only Labour for Britain's business difficulties, he argued that the Conservatives had squandered much of their time in government as well.

That gives his intervention considerably more bite. This was not simply a Conservative supporter attacking Labour; it was the chairman of a major international British engineering company saying that successive governments have failed to create the conditions in which British businesses can thrive.

JCB is now a global company, but Bamford stressed that he remains British and that his family business has been operating for around 80 years.

Hydrogen gets a spectacular vote of confidence

The Hydromax record also puts fresh pressure on politicians and policymakers debating Britain's future energy strategy.

Bamford argues that hydrogen-powered internal combustion engines deserve much more serious consideration, particularly if cutting emissions is the objective.

The machine that smashed through 400mph is certainly difficult to dismiss as obsolete technology.

With Green reaching more than 412mph on the return run, JCB has demonstrated that hydrogen can power an internal combustion engine at extraordinary speeds — and do it on a world-record scale.

‘Our future is very bright’

For Bamford, however, the message was ultimately optimistic.

Asked whether the future of JCB looked bright, the chairman did not hesitate.

“Our future is very bright,” he said.

Then, with a nod to JCB's famous corporate colour, he added: “And it's a bright yellow.”

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