Watch the DieselMax in action

Hear the one about the JCB that can hit 107mph? Now you can see it too.

While such a speed would be astonishing for a digger, it is way short of what the JCB DieselMax land speed record attempt car is capable of. But it’s early days yet, and this is the first time the streamliner had run with bodywork.

Andy Green, driver of the supersonic Thrust SSC, took the DieselMax along the runway at his own base, RAF Wittering, last week to test the fit of the body, the running of DieselMax’s twin engines (the front one drives the front wheels, the rear the rear wheels), gearboxes and parachutes.

All went to plan, making for a successful first step in the team’s assault on the diesel land speed record at Bonneville. We’ll be keeping you updated all the way, but for the meantime, watch our video here.