The sole person to ever drive a car faster than the speed of sound is returning to the salt flats of Utah this week, aiming to establish a fresh world speed benchmark.
Two decades after British driver Andy Green achieved a diesel-powered land speed record of 350.092 mph (563.4 kph) on Utah’s Bonneville Salt Flats, he is returning to the desert terrain on Tuesday. This time, he will attempt to surpass his previous achievement using a vehicle propelled by hydrogen.
Beyond pursuing a new title, the retired Royal Air Force fighter pilot hopes to demonstrate the viable potential of hydrogen as a clean energy option. Green described hydrogen as the "fuel of the future" during an interview with The Associated Press in July.
For his latest attempt, Green will steer the 32-foot (9.75-meter) JCB Hydromax, a slender, bright yellow machine crafted by British construction equipment producer JCB that looks much like a pencil. Drive comes from two modified construction machinery engines converted into hydrogen internal combustion units. Producing a collective 1,600 horsepower, the engines ignite a mix of ambient air and pressurized hydrogen gas to supply propulsion.
While aiming to eclipse his old diesel record, Green also intends to surpass the existing land speed marks for hydrogen internal combustion cars (185.5 mph/298.5 kph) and electric vehicles (341.3 mph/549.2 kph).
During practice runs last week, Green recorded a top speed of 368.347 mph (592.797 kph). However, to make the record official, he must replicate the feat on Tuesday under the observation of motorsport’s global authority, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile.
"What the peak speed is, I can’t say. We just don’t know," Green said. "Part of the adventure here is we’re going to find out."
Tuesday's run will not come close to matching the supersonic velocities Green attained using jet propulsion nearly thirty years ago.
Guinness World Records notes that Green was already a supersonic military pilot when he saw a print advertisement stating: "Wanted: High-speed driver to break the sound barrier."
In 1997, driving a twin-jet vehicle in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, he broke the sound barrier and set the absolute land speed record of 763.035 mph (1,227.98 kph), generating sonic booms that rattled the nearby community of Gerlach.
At age 64, Green believed his racing career was behind him until JCB invited him to join their new project. The manufacturer has poured over $134 million into developing hydrogen engines, which it states generate zero carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions.
"If you’re serious about emissions, you have to be serious about hydrogen, and a land speed project is the perfect way to prove it," JCB Chair Anthony Bamford declared during the vehicle's May presentation. Bamford maintains that hydrogen technology is better suited to heavy industrial applications than battery-electric solutions.
Nevertheless, the environmental benefit of hydrogen depends heavily on its origin, with most supply currently derived from fossil fuels. To counter this, JCB contracted to purchase green hydrogen—produced via renewable energy sources—though it represents only a small portion of global production.
Operating hydrogen internal combustion engines carries specific safety hazards because the pressurized gas is extremely flammable.
"We're managing the risks very carefully," Green stated. Following extensive testing of the vehicle, Green spent several months studying its handling under local weather conditions, mastering the dual-engine coordination, and practicing parachute deployment to decelerate across the slick salt surface.
Drivers seeking speed records have gathered at the smooth expanse of the Bonneville Salt Flats since racing first began there in 1914. Situated roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) west of Salt Lake City, this ancient lake bed covers an aquifer that helps cool passing vehicle tires.
Onlookers are required to remain a quarter mile (400 meters) away from the 10-mile (16-kilometer) straight track, frequently relying on wide-angle binoculars to view the action.
Located near the Utah-Nevada state line, the landscape has served as a filming site for feature films such as Independence Day and The World’s Fastest Indian, along with the final episode of the television series Mad Men.
Green is scheduled to launch his attempt approximately an hour before dawn on Tuesday. The run comes one year after a fatal accident at Bonneville's annual Speed Week, where driver Chris Raschke crashed his rocket-shaped vehicle, Speed Demon, at 283 mph (455 kph) last August and succumbed to his injuries.
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