Fun Facts About JCB
Ever wondered why all JCB machines are yellow? Did you know JCB holds 4 world speed records, including the groundbreaking JCB Hydromax? Discover amazing facts, engineering milestones and the stories behind some of the world's most iconic machines.
JCB machines are almost always yellow, mainly for safety reasons. On a building site or a quarry, you are more likely to see a yellow machine than any other colour. Some JCB customers prefer their colour machines, and the second most common colour on JCB machines is Green, followed by Red!
Did you know that JCB now holds four world speed records?
The latest addition is the JCB Hydromax, a hydrogen-powered vehicle driven by Andy Green that set a new land speed record of 406 mph, marking a significant milestone in JCB’s journey towards sustainable, high-performance engineering. The achievement comes 20 years after JCB’s Dieselmax made history in 2006 as the world’s fastest diesel-powered car, reaching an incredible 350 mph.
JCB’s record-breaking achievements now include:
- JCB Hydromax – hydrogen-powered land speed record holder 406 mph
- Dieselmax (2006) – world’s fastest diesel-powered car at 350 mph
- JCB GT (2014) – world’s fastest Backhoe Loader at 72 mph
- JCB Fastrac Two (2019) – world’s fastest tractor at 135 mph
‘JCB’ appears in the Oxford English Dictionary as a proprietary name for excavators and other earth-moving equipment.
JCB machines are a regular feature on TV shows like ‘DIY SOS’ and ‘BBC Countryfile’. In 2021, BBC TV’s ‘Inside the Factory XL programme filmed an episode based on JCB’s Backhoe Loaders manufacturing. In the series ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ on Amazon Prime Video, you may have spotted our JCB Telehandler, a versatile machine that Jeremy Clarkson uses for almost everything on the farm!
A JCB has been the subject matter of many songs. In 1958, Lenny Green had a song called JCB and Me, and in Ireland, the singer Seamus Moore, who calls himself the JCB Man, recorded the JCB song. More recently, in 2005, the band Nizlopi had a UK Christmas No.1 hit with The JCB Song.
Mr JCB began the tradition of JCB stunts in the 1960s. Elaborate manoeuvres were performed for the TV cameras, such as driving a car under a JCB Backhoe Loader machine. The hydraulic arms on the backhoe loader were raised to show the machine’s versatility and power. This performance then began the tradition of the world-famous JCB Dancing Diggers displays.
In recent years, JCB machines and branding have featured around F1 (Formula One) racetracks. Apart from official sponsor partnerships with Williams, Racing Point F1 and most recent Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team. Did you know JCB Telescopic Handlers (Loadalls) are used on many circuits to rescue and recover F1 cars that have come off the track!
48,000 JCB Backhoe Loaders are produced each year, which together would be able to move 1.5 billion tonnes of earth!
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© 2026 J C Bamford Excavators Ltd.
© 2026 J C Bamford Excavators Ltd.
