The BYD Group is no stranger to electric supercars, especially with the freakishly powerful Yangwang U9. While that model remains exclusive to China for now, BYD’s premium brand Denza has unveiled the Denza Z electric supercar in Europe, taking aim at established marques such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche and possibly even Rimac. To drive home that message, there’s arguably no bigger stage to make that statement than showing up at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
First shown off as a concept at the 2025 Shanghai Auto Show, and eventually as a production-ready prototype earlier this year at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show, the Denza Z sticks faithfully to its clean and composed concept styling.
The Denza Z’s curvy, sleek proportions are designed to minimise drag, letting air flow smoothly over the body. The roofline traces a single, uninterrupted line that gives the car an almost teardrop-like silhouette, while the front end takes on a sharper profile designed to cut through the air ahead of it. An air intake set into the front bonnet does double duty, aiding aerodynamics while also managing heat.
Up front, it sports Diamond-shaped headlights that look oddly familiar to those from a Lamborghini Aventador. Around back, distinctive diamond-shaped taillights echo that same design language. Combined with its low and wide proportions, the Denza Z carries a genuinely exotic presence.
The Denza Z comes in three forms: Coupe, Spider, and a more track-focused Racing edition. The racing edition adds a re-engineered front air intake optimised for extreme conditions, a carbon fibre front splitter, underfloor vortex generators, vents throughout the body, and a massive adjustable carbon fibre wing. All in all, Denza says it generates up to 1060kg of downforce at 217 km/h.
Inside, the Denza Z reveals a surprisingly driver-centric cabin — a rather uncommon sight for Chinese cars. The centrepiece of it all is a sports steering wheel fitted with six large physical buttons, giving drivers access to various controls without pulling their eyes from the road.
As the halo car for the Denza brand, the interior doesn’t skimp on luxury. High-quality leather and carbon fibre trim feature throughout the cabin, complemented by an 8.88-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch infotainment screen. A premium Devialet sound system rounds out the tech, while a double-layered centre console, a byproduct of the car’s EV architecture, adds some convenience.
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The Denza Z also comes with two rear seats. But just like a Porsche 911, dont expect them to fit adults. If you ever so please, drivers can also replace the seats with a roll cage in the Racing edition.
Underpinning the Denza Z is the brand’s new e³ Sports Car Platform (pronounced “e-cube”), built around a triple-motor torque control system, featuring one on the front axle and two at the rear and producing a combined 1,604 hp and 1,240 Nm of torque. Fitted with the optional semi-slick tyre package, the Denza Z will sprint from 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in a blistering 1.96 seconds, on its way to a top speed of 217 mph (349 km/h).
The Racing edition pushes things further with a beefed-up cooling system that bumps output to 2,000 hp, dropping the 0-100 km/h sprint to a neck-snapping 1.7 seconds. Its triple-motor system also enables a party trick Denza calls the “compass turn,” where the car pivots around its front wheels while the rear wheels sweep around in an arc.
The Denza Z rides on a double-wishbone front and multilink rear suspension setup, and it’s the first Denza model to feature DiSus-M magnetorheological dampers — better known as Magnaride — which change the viscosity of their fluid in milliseconds when exposed to a magnetic field.
Both the Coupe and Spider ride on air suspension, while the Racing edition trades that for more conventional steel coil springs. Stopping power comes from carbon ceramic brakes, with six-piston callipers up front and four-piston units at the rear, both customisable in any colour.
Every version of the Denza Z comes with the same 76kWh 2nd Generation Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) Blade Battery, good for up to 254 miles (409 km) of range. The battery uses BYD’s gigacasting-based Cell-to-Body (CTB) architecture, positioning the pack directly into the chassis to boost torsional rigidity while freeing up extra space in the cabin.
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The Denza Z also marks the European debut of BYD Group’s latest Flash Charging technology, capable of up to 1,500 kW DC charging. That translates to a 10-70% charge in just five minutes, and a 10-97% charge in only nine minutes.
The Denza Z is now available to order in the UK, priced from GBP142,900 (approx. RM781k) for the Coupe, GBP159,900 (approx. RM874k) for the Spider, and GBP172,900 (approx. RM945k) for the Racing Edition. Customer deliveries are expected to begin by the end of the year, while the track-focused Racing Edition will continue testing at the Nürburgring in pursuit of even faster lap times. The question is: can it better the 6:59.157 lap set by its in-house sibling, the Yangwang U9 XTreme?
READ MORE: BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme claims title as fastest production EV around the Nürburgring
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