This was no ordinary JCB — the Diesel Max streamliner is twice as fast as an F1 car and powered by two JCB digger engines.

And the 201mph recorded this week was the Diesel Max just warming up. In just over two weeks, JCB intend to hit 300mph to set a new world speed record for a diesel-powered vehicle.

The record attempt will be at the famous Bonneville Salt Flats in Arizona but our warm-up was, fittingly, on a runway at RAF Wittering normally used by Harrier jets.

When the JCB Diesel Max was in full flight it looked like a bright-yellow missile that would give even a Harrier a run for its money.

My role in helping the Diesel Max on the way to the record was courtesy of a large push up its rear end by me in a ten-ton JCB Fastrac tractor. In truth, I was only allowed to drive the Fastrac into place behind the Diesel Max. I then moved into the passenger seat next to JCB’s top test driver, Colin Bond.

JCB were understandably nervous my foot might slip and I might push the Fastrac too hard into the Max. As it is a one-off that cost several million pounds to develop, I happily agreed to stand down, especially as the expert Colin told me he was still “nervous” at doing the push.

JCB ... stands for Just Can't Believe it!

The Diesel Max needs a gentle push-start from the Fastrac to just over 30mph before the driver, Wing Commander Andy Green, engages the F1-style paddle gearshift and blasts the fastest JCB ever down the runway under its own power.

And Green was the perfect man to have behind the wheel because he is already the fastest man on Earth.  Green flies Tornado F3 jets but on October 15, 1997, he became the first and only man ever to drive at supersonic speeds when he averaged 763.035mph in Thrust SSC to set the world’s land speed record in Nevada.

He said: “I’m really looking forward to driving another British entry into the 300mph club. “Driving the Diesel Max gives me an opportunity to stretch myself at speed, especially as it’s a diesel — and a JCB.

“This week’s trial runs went even better than expected — it handles superbly at high speed. We’ve hit 200mph and haven’t even opened it up fully yet.” I’m confident about our attempt at the record and there is no reason why we shouldn’t do it.”

But Green is quick to point out that the 300mph record attempt will face problems that are out of the team’s control — like going on a salt lake in 40°C temperatures and high crosswinds. But after passing 200mph this week Green was clearly delighted and still looked as cool as a cucumber, more like someone who had just enjoyed a Sunday afternoon drive

Witnessing the slim Diesel Max surge down the runway from the cab of the Fastrac was one of the most spectacular and bizarre sights I’ve ever experienced.

Fastest man on Earth ... Andy Green

Watching the bright red parachutes burst out of the back to help the brakes bring it to a halt gave a sudden reminder of just how fast the JCB was traveling and how much faster it will be on its record attempt. The man behind the record bid is JCB chairman Sir Anthony Bamford, who has masterminded the firm’s rise to becoming an international success story.

Sir Anthony sees the record run as an opportunity to showcase the excellence of the firm’s diesel engine. He said: “I am passionate about the importance of engineering excellence to Britain and I see using the JCB engine for this record attempt as a fantastic way of showcasing what British engineers can do.

“It has always been a family tradition that the way to make progress is to push the boundaries. I believe that building the world’s fastest diesel-powered automobile is precisely the sort of challenge that we should rise to.”

If Andy Green smashes the record later this month it will be a red letter day for JCB and British engineering — proving we’re still capable of setting the pace in the motoring world.

Not so mellow yellow ... hitting 201mph during warm up

Push-start ... Diesel Max is nudged into place

20 April 2006

JCB today unveiled the JCB DIESELMAX vehicle with which it aims to break the world land speed record for a diesel powered automobile in August 2006 at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah.  Powered by a pair of advanced 4-cylinder, 5-litre JCB444-LSR diesels, developed with the support of Ricardo, the JCB DIESELMAX boasts the world’s highest specific power diesel engines used in any automobile application

Ricardo is proud to have been selected by JCB as the engine development partner for the JCB DIESELMAX vehicle as well as providing support to the programme. In addition to its advanced diesel engineering expertise, Ricardo applied its state-of-the-art powertrain computer aided engineering software to the task of assisting JCB in the development of the advanced JCB444-LSR engines which power the JCB DIESELMAX.  Ricardo was also able to draw upon extensive knowledge and experience of the engine architecture which forms the basis of the JCB444-LSR engines as a result of its previous role as concept engineering partner on the production JCB444 engine from which the land speed record engines are developed and with which they share many components. 

The resulting JCB444-LSR engines exhibit many of the technologies which are likely to form the basis of the next generation of high performance, low-emissions diesel engines in both automotive as well as heavy-duty applications. The results are truly impressive and the headline figures speak for themselves: with each delivering peak power of 750hp and torque of 1500Nm the engines are over five times the power of the production version and at 150hp/litre, they exceed even motorsports applications as the world’s highest specific power diesels.  At the same time the JCB DIESELMAX engines retain excellent fuel efficiency and very low emissions through the use of advanced combustion control and diesel particulate filter technology. 

Diesel Max, l'auto più veloce del mondo

Il pilota Andy Green tenterà di superare il record dei 482 km l'ora

8/8/2006

Il pilota Andy Green a fianco a Diesel Max

Correrà sulla pista statunitense di Bonneville, nello Utah, con un obiettivo: puntare al record di 482 chilometri l'ora. È la Diesel Max, l'auto più veloce del mondo studiata per volare anche a 500 km l'ora. A guidarla, sarà ovviamente un uomo da primato, Andy Green, matematico, ex colonnello della Raf e vero top gun dei Phantom e dei Tornado.

Grazie alla sua forma allungata, questa auto da record assoluto si è già conquistata il nome di «siluro» e, causa appunto la sua lunghezza, non è potuta entrare nella galleria del vento per i test d'obbligo. Ma i tecnici non si sono persi d'animo. Così, per verificare se la struttura era all'altezza del primato che il veicolo vuole conquistare, hanno inventato da capo a piedi un software tutto per lei.

A realizzare la freccia delle piste per quattro ruote è stata la britannica Jcb, uno dei principali costruttori mondiali di macchineda cantiere e per l'edilizia che questa volta, sottolinea il periodico diretto da Jacopo Loredan, ha costruito un veicolo battezzato già «il diesel più veloce del pianeta», capace di toccare le 300 miglia orarie, cioè 482 km/h.

L'auto da record sfrutta non uno ma ben due motori a quattro cilindri da 750 cavalli ciascuno e, dalle motoscavatrici alla formula uno da guinness, l'azienda britannica ha realizzato un veicolo che, nonostante le sue prestazioni, sviluppo appena 2500 giri. Nel suo serbatoio la Jcb Diesel Max ha solo 9 litri di carburante, ma usa 250 chili di ghiaccio al posto del radiatore.

Il pilota Andy Green, che porterà l'auto sul podio dei primati mondiali, è il primo uomo ad aver sfondato nel 1997 il muro del suono a bordo di un veicolo lanciato nel deserto di Black Rock, in Nevada, alla folle velocità di 1.227,986 chilometri l'ora. Per battere il nuovo record con «il siluro», Green dovrà affrontare un tratto di 9 miglia di pista pari a 14,5 chilometri per due volte in un'ora, tentando così di superare il precedente record che ha visto la stessa auto lanciatoa a 379,413 chilometri l'ora.

La sfida è prevista per il prossimo mese e, siccome l'auto ha un telaio da record lungo ben 9 metri che non si può smontare, Green è pronto a partire per States con ben 27 tra ingegneri e meccanici, carichi di 20 tonnellate di attrezzature.

In every corner of the world you'll find a JCB machine. JCB is one of the world's top five privately-owned manufacturers of construction equipment. JCB employ over 5,000 people on 4 continents and sell products in 150 countries through 1,000 dealer locations.

Throughout their 60 year history, we have always invested heavily in research and development, keeping JCB at the cutting edge of innovation.

Today, JCB has some of the finest engineering facilities across the globe, boasts a range of more than 220 machines and maintains a reputation for unrivalled customer service.  JCB, is a world-class company. Visit www.jcb.com.