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Science & Tech20 outlets ran this5 min read

Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah

British driver sets new FIA-certified mark in JCB Hydromax, powered by two hydrogen combustion engines

AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made

Published
Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah

What this story says

  • Andy Green set a new FIA-certified land speed record of 406.320 mph in a hydrogen-powered car at the Bonneville Salt Flats on 11 August 2026.
  • The JCB Hydromax, powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines, surpassed the previous hydrogen record of 185.5 mph by more than 200 mph.
  • The record was overseen by FIA officials and required two runs in opposite directions within an hour, averaging speeds over a measured mile.
  • JCB framed the achievement as a demonstration of hydrogen’s potential for heavy industry, though most hydrogen is currently produced from fossil fuels.

Who covered it

Left 13%(2)Centre 74%(12)Right 13%(2)

Percentages are shares of the 16 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 4 of the 20 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .

Trust

92/100

Craft

78/100

Hype

20/100

20 sources · methodology

Andy Green, a retired Royal Air Force pilot, set a new land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle on 11 August 2026 at the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah. The Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) certified the record after Green averaged 406.320 mph across two runs in the JCB Hydromax, a 32-foot car powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines. The engines, adapted from JCB’s construction machinery, produce a combined 1,600 horsepower.

The previous record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle was 185.5 mph, set in 2004. Green’s attempt required two runs in opposite directions within an hour, with the average speed taken from a measured mile in each direction. The Hydromax reached 400.623 mph on its first run and 412.135 mph on the return, as reported by Autocar UK. The record was overseen by FIA officials alongside the United States’ National Sporting Authority.

Green, who also holds the overall land speed record of 763.035 mph set in 1997, described the Bonneville Salt Flats as the "best racing surface in the world." The JCB Hydromax’s engines mix pressurised hydrogen gas with air and ignite it to generate power. JCB’s chairman, Lord Bamford, stated the achievement proved hydrogen combustion could deliver zero emissions at low cost, though the company’s hydrogen is currently sourced from renewable energy, which makes up a small fraction of global production.

What the coverage left out

None of the right-rated digests mentioned the previous hydrogen land speed record of 185.5 mph, which was reported by the Durango Herald and Autocar UK. The environmental context of hydrogen production, that most is derived from fossil fuels, was omitted from all centre-rated digests and the right-rated reports. The specific speeds of the two runs required for the record were not included in any digest outside Autocar UK’s full report.

Tags:#LandSpeedRecord#HydrogenPower#BonnevilleSaltFlats#JCBHydromax#AndyGreen#FIARecord

Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 1 time, most recently on 12 Aug 2026, 01:15, and will add the sides that appear.

How other outlets pictured it

Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.

JCB Hydromax 1
Autocar UKCentre

How each side covered it

Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.

Left

2 rated outlets

  • The two left-rated reports led on the record as a milestone for hydrogen power. The Durango Herald, in its full report, quoted Green calling hydrogen the "fuel of the future" and included his remarks on the engineering and the conditions at Bonneville. It also noted the environmental context, reporting that most hydrogen is produced from fossil fuels but that JCB had signed a deal to buy green hydrogen.
  • Novinky.cz’s digest framed the record as a challenge to the official FIA land speed record, suggesting the Hydromax would attempt to surpass it soon. Neither left-rated report mentioned JCB’s criticism of British business conditions, which appeared in the right-rated coverage.

Centre

12 rated outlets

  • The 12 centre-rated digests and reports led on the speed achieved and the technical details of the Hydromax. Autocar UK’s full report detailed the two-run requirement for the record and the specific speeds reached on each run. It also quoted Lord Bamford describing the achievement as a demonstration of hydrogen’s viability for internal combustion engines at low cost.
  • Reuters and Forbes led with the record itself, while Coolhunting and Tech Spot emphasised the car’s construction, noting the engines were adapted from JCB’s excavators. The Record’s digest highlighted that the new record did not approach Green’s 1997 supersonic mark. None of the centre-rated digests mentioned the environmental or political context carried in the left and right reports.

Right

2 rated outlets

  • The two right-rated digests led on the record as a business story. The New York Post’s digest quoted Green calling hydrogen the "fuel of the future" but did not expand on the environmental implications. GB News’s digest focused on JCB chairman Lord Bamford’s criticism of British business conditions, quoting him saying the UK was in a "real mess" and that doing business there "could be a hell of a lot better."
  • Neither right-rated digest mentioned the previous hydrogen record or the technical details of the Hydromax’s engines, which were carried in the centre and left reports.

Read it at the source

20 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.

Left

2

Centre

12
Show 4 more

Right

2

Not rated

4

Questions about this coverage

How did the left and right cover Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah?
Of the 16 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 13% are rated left, 74% are rated centre, 13% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 20. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
Is Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah left or right?
The story itself is neither. What can be counted is who has covered it, and 74% of the 16 rated outlets on it are rated centre — so far this is a story carried mostly by the centre. Coverage is still arriving and that can change, which is why the figure is dated rather than fixed.
Is the coverage of Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah biased?
Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah is one event reported by 20 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
Which outlets covered Andy Green breaks hydrogen-powered land speed record at 406 mph in Utah?
20 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
What speed did Andy Green reach in the hydrogen-powered car?
Andy Green reached an average speed of 406.320 mph across two runs at the Bonneville Salt Flats, setting a new FIA-certified land speed record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle. The record required two runs in opposite directions within an hour, with speeds measured over a mile in each direction.
How does the JCB Hydromax’s engine work?
The JCB Hydromax is powered by two hydrogen internal combustion engines adapted from JCB’s construction machinery. The engines mix pressurised hydrogen gas with air and ignite it to generate power, producing a combined 1,600 horsepower. This differs from hydrogen fuel cells, which generate electricity.
What was the previous hydrogen land speed record?
The previous hydrogen land speed record was 185.5 mph, set in 2004 by a BMW research prototype. Andy Green’s 406.320 mph run in the JCB Hydromax surpassed it by over 200 mph. The previous FIA-certified record for a hydrogen-powered vehicle was 302.877 mph, set in 2009.
Why did JCB attempt the record?
JCB framed the record attempt as a demonstration of hydrogen’s potential for heavy industry, particularly in locations lacking electric vehicle charging infrastructure. The company’s chairman, Lord Bamford, stated the achievement proved hydrogen combustion could deliver zero emissions at low cost, aligning with JCB’s growing hydrogen engine business.

How did this read?

About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.

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