abstract
| - The JCB Dieselmax is a diesel-engined 'Streamliner' car designed for the purpose of breaking the land speed record for a diesel-engined vehicle. The chassis was designed and built by Coventry-based engineering company Visioneering, with engine development by Sussex-based Ricardo UK Ltd. During the 2006 Bonneville Speed Week and subsequent FIA record runs, the car was driven by Wing Commander Andy Green, a serving RAF Officer who previously broke, and still holds, the absolute land speed record in the ThrustSSC. The car began shakedown testing on July 20th 2006 on the runway at RAF Wittering with the lower-power 600bhp version of the JCB444 engine, the team slowly ramping up the speed to prove the chassis and engines. They eventually achieved a speed of over 200 mph on July 30th. Two days later, the car was disassembled ready to be flown to Wendover Airport, Utah, former home of the B-29 'Enola Gay' on August 8th. On August 13th, after several days spent re-assembling and re-testing the car, the Dieselmax made its first official run on the Bonneville Salt Flats as part of Speed Week, eventually attaining an average speed of 317 mph to take the SCTA-BNI event record for an 'AA/DS' Diesel Streamliner. On 22nd August 2006, after being re-fitted with 750bhp 'LSR' versions of the JCB444 engines, the JCB Dieselmax car broke the official FIA diesel engine land speed record, attaining a speed of 328.767 mph (529 km/h). 24 hours later the JCB Dieselmax car broke its own record, achieving a speed of 350.092 mph (563.418 km/h) over a distance of 1 mile on 23rd August 2006. Before attaining these speeds, the Dieselmax was pushed from behind, by a JCB Fastrac, until it hit 30mph where it engaged first gear. Before the JCB Dieselmax record was set, the existing diesel land speed record was 236 mph (380 km/h), set in August 1973.
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