There’s a new fastest production car in town and it’s not a Koenigsegg or Bugatti – it’s the BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme. Yangwang, BYD’s luxury sub-brand, has set a new top speed record of 496.22 km/h (308.4 mph) with the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, making it the fastest production car in history – the company claims.
The run, conducted at Germany’s ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg track, also eclipsed the brand’s previous (contentious) record of 472.41 km/h, when it was still known as the Track Edition.
Now named the Yangwang U9 Xtreme (U9X for short) in its production guise, the electric hypercar boasts four electric motors that can each spin up to 30,000 rpm, delivering a combined output of 3,019 hp – nearly tripling the standard variant’s 1,305 hp total output. Weighing at 2630 kg, this gives it a power-to-weight ratio of 1,287 hp per tonne.
This performance comes from a new 1200V ultra-high-voltage system, replacing the standard model’s 800V setup. The BYD Blade Battery equipped here also supports a 30C discharge rate—meaning it can release 30 times its capacity in one hour.
Other upgrades on the U9 Xtreme include upgraded DiSus-X suspension and specially developed Giti tyres, engineered to withstand extreme loads during circuit runs and, in this case, record-breaking speed attempts.
Based on the on-board footage, it appears that the record-setting BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme did not even reach VMax in its attempt, due to the short straight sections at ATP measuring only approximately 4 km long. With a longer run, speeds exceeding 500 km/h should be easily achievable. Bonkers.
As impressive as it is, though, The BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme is still not officially entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the fastest production car in history. Like its previous attempt, the top-speed attempt was only done in a single direction, instead of an averaged top speed from a two-way run as required by the official bookkeepers to reduce the effects of wind.
For now, the official record still belongs to the SSC Tuatara with its 455.3 km/h record. Aside from the top speed record, BYD also claims that the Yangwang U9 Xtreme has lapped the infamous Nurburgring Nordschleife with a laptime of just 6:59:157 minutes (watch the video here), making it the fastest production EV to do so – but the official record has not been reflected on Nurburgring’s official “Record Drives” website just yet.
The record-breaking BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme will be limited to just 30 units worldwide. While BYD has yet to reveal its price, the electric hypercar will be sold exclusively in China for now. If BYD takes it global, it would be thrilling to see it challenge Europe’s top hypercars on track—or even join the ongoing 0-400-0 km/h duel between Koenigsegg and Rimac.
ALSO READ: The rivalry continues: Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut beats Rimac to reclaim 0-400-0 km/h throne
GALLERY
