British construction equipment manufacturer JCB aims to set a new diesel land speed record with this Bonneville
streamliner powered by two backhoe engines. Really. The JCB Dieselmax H1 is motivated by a pair of JCB444 diesels
normally used with the company’s backhoe models.
The firm announced Thursday that the streamliner is scheduled for an August
attempt to break the 33-year-old diesel speed record of 235.756 mph, set by Virgil Snyder in the Thermo King
Streamliner. The Dieselmax will be driven by Britain’s own Andy Green, holder of the unlimited land speed record.
The two LSR four-cylinder diesels use a standard production engine block, cylinder head and bedplate, upgraded
with direct injection, two-stage turbocharging and a host of other mods to boost power output to 750 hp. Redlined at
3800 rpm, each engine produces nearly 1,100 ft-lb of torque. The engines will run with about 75 psi (!) of boost at
full power. At 150 hp/liter, JCB claims the Dieselmax engines are the world’s highest specific power diesel car
engines.
[Source: JCB]