JCB Dieselmax

Project Overview

We set out to prove the power and versatility of the JCB444 Engine by attempting to break the existing land speed record (set by a diesel-powered engine).

JCB also saw a great opportunity to showcase the expert skills possessed by British engineers who helped design and build the vehicle.

Challenges Faced

Such a complex project would of course throw up many obstacles to overcome, but the main issue we faced was quite simply, that nobody had ever attempted to create a record breaking vehicle like the Dieselmax before. Therefore we had very little to no precedent for our designers and engineers to follow.

Our Solutions

To be successful, with no precedent to follow, it made sense for our vehicle to be perfectly unique, like no other before it.

‘’It was expertly designed and built to fully withstand the pressures it was to be placed under and with no guidelines to follow this was no easy task… we were entering completely unknown territory. ‘’

However, a design was brilliantly created and perfected by ‘Visioneering’s’ Chief Designer who developed a soon to be ‘record breaking’ sleek, aerodynamic body.

What made this even more extraordinary was that he did it using only computers; and as it turns out the sole use of computers to design a record breaking vehicle was something that had never been done before.

Results & Achievements

The success of the Dieselmax was widely documented, it broke the record on its first run, achieving a speed of 328mph.

Confident in its performance and capabilities the team set their sights on an even better result and on the next run, the record was once again broken, reaching an incredible speed of 350mph, well over 100mph greater than the previous record holder.

The success of the Dieselmax was a triumph for JCB, but also one for Visioneering (now Envisage Technologies). We demonstrated our capabilities in producing and delivering world class level engineering and assistance and have never be more proud.