Ricardo Powers JCB DIESELMAX Through 200 MPH

The 200 mph barrier has been broken by the JCB DIESELMAX - in UK testing - for an attempt on the land speed record for diesel-powered vehicles on the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah, USA in August. During two weeks of testing at RAF Wittering, Peterborough, the diesel-powered JCB car achieved a top speed of 201 mph and seven runs over 180 mph.

VAN BUREN TWP., Mich., Aug. 3 -- The awesome 750 bhp engines of the JCB DIESELMAX have been developed in partnership with Ricardo during the course of the past 18 months.

"I'm so impressed with what has been achieved -- exceeding 200 mph really shows the potential of the car to break the record," said Wing Commander Andy Green, the fastest man on earth, who was piloting the car. "Combined, the engines have twice the power of a Formula 1 car and it's remarkably easy to drive. It steers very well, the brakes work smoothly and the chassis is extremely stiff. That gives you the confidence you need when accelerating to very high speeds and then coming to a stop in a limited space.

"We've been working to an exceptionally tight timescale and we have to learn new things every day, from engine and transmission performance to parachute deployment," he continued. "It's impossible for everything to work perfectly when testing land speed record vehicles as you're pushing the boundaries, but we're on target."

RAF Wittering was selected as the best UK venue for preparing for the Bonneville Salt Flats, as it is exceptionally flat. However, the runway is only 1.6 miles long compared with the nine miles available in Bonneville, so this has limited the car's speed to 200 mph.

During the trials Green has had 1200 hp available, while on the Salt Flats the two engines will produce their full combined power of 1500 bhp, allowing DIESELMAX to reach its true potential, weather conditions permitting. The current world diesel land speed record stands at 235 mph, while JCB is targeting 300 mph.

Ian Penny, director of diesel engineering for Ricardo said, "The achievement of 200 mph in UK testing demonstrates the underlying reliability and performance of these exceptional engines which have been developed from the production JCB444 engine. We look forward to continuing to support JCB as the team relocates to the U.S. for the world speed record attempt."

The team travels to the U.S. later this week to undergo further vital testing on the salt flats at the legendary Bonneville Speed Week event prior to the record attempt the following week. The race is therefore now on to dismantle the car and the technical support operation ready for air freighting everything from London's Stansted airport to Salt Lake City. The operation will then be reassembled, ready to resume trials on Aug. 12.

With its North American headquarters in Van Buren Twp., Mich., Ricardo -- a world-leading vehicle system and powertrain technology provider for automotive manufacturers, heavy-duty manufacturers and tier one suppliers -- has been providing value through innovation and technology for 100 years.

Ricardo is the premium global deep-content engineering and management consulting partner for automotive, commercial vehicle and related industry sectors. The company provides complete engineering services from strategy through product concept, design release and validation, and all phases of the product lifecycle. Ricardo technical expertise lies in powertrain and driveline, vehicle engineering, hybrid and fuel cell technologies, controls and electronics, niche volume manufacturing and advanced simulation software.

Ricardo is committed to excellence and industry leadership in people, technology and knowledge. A public company based in the U.K., Ricardo plc posted sales of $272 million in fiscal year 2005 and is a part of the FTSE techMark 100 index -- a group of innovative technology companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. For more information, visit http://www.ricardo.com/ .

NOTE TO EDITORS: Images of the JCB DIESELMAX are available by contacting Jessica Killenberg (jkillenberg@bianchipr.com ) at +1-248-269-1122.