by Brad Anderson
- YangWang U9 uses four electric motors to produce a total of 2,978 hp.
- BYD will build just 30 examples of its flagship hypercar worldwide.
- At 308.4 mph, the U9 outsprinted the Chiron Super Sport 300+.
There’s a new name at the very top of the production car speed charts, and it doesn’t come from Europe, Japan or America. Instead, it’s BYD’s YangWang brand that has grabbed headlines. Not long after the YangWang U9 Track Edition set an electric car top speed record, the hypercar returned with a new name, the U9 Xtreme, and delivered something extraordinary. On its latest run, it reached 308.4 mph, or 496.22 km/h.
The vmax was achieved at the ATP Papenburg high-speed oval in Germany with Marc Basseng behind the wheel. Because since the record was only logged in a single direction, SSC’s Tuatara still retains the official two-way average title at 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h), at least for now.
Taking On The Big Guns
Even with that caveat, the numbers are remarkable. The U9 Xtreme eclipsed the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which Andy Wallace drove to 304.77 mph (490.48 km/h) in 2019, also in a one-way run. For a Chinese EV to edge past one of the most revered European hypercars marks a significant milestone in itself.
Read: BYD’s Track-Focused Hypercar Beats Rimac As The World’s Fastest EV
High power is one of the key reasons behind the U9 Xtreme’s monumental top speed. It features four electric motors that combine to produce 2,978 hp, more than double the 1,288 hp output of the regular U9. It is also the first production car to feature a 1,200-volt platform and has significantly denser batteries than all other BYD models.
Production will be extremely limited, with just 30 cars scheduled to be built. Pricing remains under wraps, but it is unlikely BYD will struggle to find buyers for a machine with this kind of performance and bragging rights.
Flat-Out At Papenburg
An onboard clip shows the electric hypercar on its way to the record top speed. Basseng drove around the sloped curve of the oval at over 186 mph (300 km/h) before pinning the throttle and gaining speed at a truly shocking pace. The car roars past 280 mph (450 km/h) and 292 mph (470 km/h) with ease and doesn’t even appear to break a sweat reaching 308 mph (496 km/h).
It appears likely the car could have breezed past 310.6 mph (500 km/h), but Basseng had to lift off the throttle and jump on the brakes as the car started to drift towards the left-hand barrier next to the track.
A Nurburgring Record Too
It’s not just the top speed of the YangWang U9 Xtreme that’s impressive. BYD has also confirmed it has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:59.157, snatching the EV production car record away from the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that lapped the circuit in 7:04.957 earlier this year.
