What’s yellow, moves earth and can reach almost 200 km/h on a straight? It’s the JCB GT Backhoe, which will be in Australia in October to fly the JBC flag and set an official world record.
The world’s fastest earthmover features a supercharged Chevrolet V8 big block engine, belt-driven supercharger and a pair of four-barrelled Holley carbs. Exhaling via eight, 50cm straight-through exhausts and delivering 746 kW (1,000 horsepower), the GT can reach top speeds of around 193 km/h.
Normally housed at JCB headquarters in Staffordshire, UK, the GT will first appear at the Deni Ute Muster in NSW on October 3 and 4, where it will make trial runs and put on demonstrations. Joining it will be the JCB Dancing Diggers, which have become a You Tube sensation with their choreographed ‘dance’ moves.
The JCB GT’s first official timed run will be made alongside the V8 supercars at the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000, where a specialty driver from the UK will attempt to run the modified backhoe down a 250m stretch in under four seconds. This run will be timed and submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.
“The JCB GT is unofficially known as the world’s fastest backhoe, and this run will finally make it official. We’re excited to see how it performs,” JCB CEA Executive General Manager Hylton Taylor says. “More than two years of research and development went into producing the GT, so I’m sure it will exceed expectations.”
This is actually the second JCB GT — the original was built by JCB at the Staffordshire UK factory in the late 1980s, and appeared at a number of motor racing circuits such as Brands Hatch and Silverstone.
| Deni Ute Muster | Deniliquin, NSW | Oct 3-4 |
| * Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 | Bathurst, NSW | Oct 9-12 |
| * Gold Coast 600 | Gold Coast, QLD | Oct 24-26 |
| Australian Nationals | Sydney Dragway, NSW | Oct 31 – Nov 2 |
| * Sydney 500 | Sydney, NSW | Dec 5-7 |
* Official timed record attempts
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