WORLD RECORD ON THE BONNEVILLE SALT FLATS WEST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

JCB from Rocester in England makes backhoe loaders, telescopic handlers, wheeled loaders, Fastrac tractors, rough terrain fork lifts, articulated dump trucks, mini and micro excavators – in short, construction and agricultural equipment of a high standard. Recently, JCB has also produced records. Speed world records. With diesel technology, to be more precise with two modified JCB 444 diesel engines from their product range, placed in a unique type of vehicle: the JCB DIESELMAX or also “The World’s Fastest Diesel”.

In 2006, the JCB engineers started an ambitious project, quite unlike any type of farming or construction machinery. The basis: 2 diesel engines from the series production, which were tuned to produce together 1,103 kW or 1,500 hp. This was combined with the idea of a high-speed racer with brake parachute in dragster fashion – and the challenge of an existing speed world record for diesel propelled vehicles of 378 km/h.

The rules for the record contenders: the driver takes the car through the so-called flying mile, in which the distance of one mile has to be driven twice within one hour – and the mean value of the average speeds becomes the record ... or maybe not.

The first hurdle for the team was the construction of a body shell that can cope with the aero dynamic demands of this extreme speed. This was exclusively designed and tested on a computer – and that for two reasons. First, the wind pressure of the desired speed started to have significant effects on the vehicle, especially at the contact areas between wheels and ground, which is here the salt at the bottom of the extremely flat Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, USA that dried-up about 14,000 years ago. This type of speed cannot be simulated in any wind tunnel. The second reason is the size of the vehicle – it is more than 9 m long and therefore simply too big for a wind tunnel test. And a scaled-down model would have distorted the measuring results.

Then, everything had to be put into practice – in the form of a space frame chassis and a driver’s cockpit made from carbon fibre, with one engine in front and the other engine behind it. The advantage of this design solution is optimum weight distribution in the vehicle, with optimum all-round visibility and engine positions that offer probably the best chances of accident prevention. This resulted in a unique cigar-shaped specimen with extremely aerodynamic contour, with a control unit without steering quality, without wings, however, with 2 modified series engines that can provide about five times their normal power.

Finally, it was time for the race. At 9:37 hours local time, the first run was started. In the cockpit sat Andy Green, a former Royal Air Force pilot. The JCB DIESELMAX reached an average speed of 588.7 km/h, despite the fact that the engine power was automatically reduced because the cooling system became overheated. In the second run, Andy Green raced the vehicle with an average speed of 540.3 km/h through the flying mile – and this, despite applying the brake accidentally already before the end of the course. The old record of 378 km/h was broken and reestablished with 563.4 km/h.

This success demonstrates impressively the potential of the new JCB 444 diesel engines – the series version of the 4-cylinder engine with 4.4 litres delivers just 200 hp (147 kW). Also MAHLE Powertrain can be proud of this world record: the block, cylinder head and bedplate of the series engines are machined in the plant at Wellingborough, England – with about 35,000 to 40,000 sets annually.