Auto Trader

Andy's next ride - the JCB Dieselmax - is the car designed to become the fastest diesel car in history. Alex Eckford met Andy at a testing session.

It's a hot summer's afternoon at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. Runway-meltingly hot. People are drinking water by the bottleful and standing in front of open fridges to keep cool.

At the edge of the airfield stand a number of tents. In the largest of these 27 people dressed in yellow and black are working like busy bees on a nine-metre long twin-engined car. A car they hope will soon be a world record breaker.

And in the middle of it all stands the star of the show - Wing Commander Andy Green. Back in 1997 Andy became a household name as the man who drove ThrustSSC through the sound barrier.

Today he's performing two test runs of the car designed to become the world's fastest diesel car - the JCB Dieselmax. The first run of the day has seen the car top 100mph - the team's target speed.

As he emerges from the cockpit, Andy is in high spirits.

"Faster! More! Again!" says Andy.

Taking our place out of the sun, I ask Andy how the run went.

"Great - I was really pleased with that. I was being very tentative though – with so much horsepower available I have to be careful not to let it run away with me, and end up smoking the tires," says Andy.

The JCB Dieselmax is an incredible feat of engineering. On the suggestion of Richard Noble it features two engines – each with 750bhp each and enough horsepower to drive the car into the record books.

Later this month the Dieselmax will be flown out to the salt flats after Bonneville Speed Week - where the team will attempt to break the record for the fastest diesel car ever driven and take the vehicle over the 300mph mark.

Andy has a lot of experience flying incredibly fast machines. During his airforce career he has piloted Phantoms and Tornados, and is now Deputy Station Commander at Wittering. I ask him how driving record-breaking cars compares to flying jets.

"It's hard to compare the two – I'm lucky to have what I think is the best day job in the world as a pilot for the Royal Air Force, but being involved in record breaking feats like this means I have got the best holiday job in the world," says Andy.

Getting the Dieselmax ready in time for the speed attempt has been a massive job. A team of engineers has worked day and night with seemingly unlimited enthusiasm.

"Watching the body language of the team as they work - it's incredible. It's all about a team going out and setting a record, it's never the driver on his own. The car goes fast because the team makes it fast and we have collectively developed it to make it that way," says Andy.

Work on the Dieselmax project started in November. What has been the biggest challenge of the project?

"The timescale, we are trying to do this faster than anybody has ever done it," says Andy.

"It's astonishing - the car didn't exist two months ago and we're going to have it at Bonneville in a few weeks."

Andy's reasons for joining the RAF stem back to his family - specifically his father.

"He sparked a fascination in me. But far from encouraging me he said positively do not join! He told me to get a proper job, but I ignored him and pressed on anyway."

Back in the non-record breaking world, Andy - a man who flies jets and drives record-breaking supercars for a living - has a vehicle befitting his status.

"I drive a Jaguar XK8," he says. "Convertible, obviously."

One last question - does the world's fastest driver use Auto Trader?

"Yes - in fact I used it to buy my XK8! I got a good deal."

An engineer motions to Andy, who picks up his crash helmet - it's time for the second run. The team push the Dieselmax out onto the runway, and Andy waves goodbye as he calmly strolls out to take his place in the driver's seat. The car reaches 126.9mph.

One week later the Dieselmax breaks the 200mph barrier. They're on their way.