JCB, a construction equipment manufacturer, will attempt to break the diesel land speed record this summer at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. To reach speeds over 300 mph, JCB built the world’s most powerful diesel engine at 150 bhp per liter, based on the same 4-cylinder, 4.4 liter (444) diesel engine the company uses in the world’s best-selling backhoe loader. The Dieselmax car will be driven by RAF pilot Andy Green, who set the first-ever supersonic world land speed record at 763.035 mph in ThrustSSC in the Black Rock Desert on October 15, 1997. The Dieselmax is more than 29 feet long, weighs nearly three tons and is powered by two 750 bhp two-stage turbocharged JCB444 diesel engines driving through separate six-speed transmissions. The Dieselmax is twice as powerful and twice as fast as a Formula 1 car.
Initial vehicle testing will be conducted by Green at the Wittering Royal Air Force station, near Peterborough, England prior to the first salt testing at Bonneville during Speed Week, which runs August 12-18, 2006. The team will make its first attempt to set a new record the following week.
The current record is held by Virgil W. Snyder, who hit a speed of 235.756 mph at the Bonneville Salt Flats on August 25, 1973.
04/20, 8:45 PM
posted by:
moody
Exciting.
04/21, 12:44 AM
posted by:
wickedated
Shotgun!
04/21, 2:08 AM
posted by:
Saud
Isn’t that heavy for a record setting car?
04/21, 5:17 AM
posted by:
Will Edwards
Can’t say I normally associate JCBs with speed…
What’s the petrol-engine world speed record? Thrust SSC, the land-speed record holder, was powered by jet engines wasn’t it?
04/21, 10:40 AM
posted by:
Kendall Richardson
its 3tons cuz it got 2engines and 2transmissions………duhhh
04/21, 11:56 AM
posted by:
Phil McCrackin
WEight doesn’t really affect top speed too much. It just affects how long it takels to get up to speed.
Power and aerodynamics are top priorities for land-speed cars.
And what Kendall said. Minus the duhh.
I think the piston-speed record is a bit north of 400mph, but I don’t know for sure. See what google says.
04/22, 1:45 PM
posted by:
The Stig
http://www.ricardo.com/media/pressreleases/pressrelease.aspx?page=39
04/24, 12:04 PM
posted by:
Stick Shiftin’ » JCB to set land-speed record with a tractor powered rocket
[...] This story reminds me of when fellow editor Tyler spoke of sourcing a Mitsubishi fork lift motor for his project Starion becuase they both use the same in-line four cylinder 2.6 liter engine. The concept is to take a heavy duty construction vehicle’s engine and make it work for a car. In the case of JCB, the construction equipment manufacturer is set to attempt to break the diesel land speed record at the Bonneville Salt Flats later this Summer. Named the DieselMax, this land-rocket will be powered by two of the construction companies same four-cylinder engine found in its production back-hoe. Weighing in at more than 3tons and measuring 29ft. long, JCB hopes to reach a top-speed of more than 763.035mph(the previous record set in 1997)with two 750hp twin-turbo diesel engines transmitting power via separate six-speed transmissions. With this much grunt, the DieselMax is twice as powerful and fast as a Formula 1 race car. Maybe Tyler has the right idea? For more in depth coverage of the DieselMax, link to our source at LeftLaneNews. [...]