This all-electric Yangwang U9 Xtreme is now asserts that the Chinese are the new kings of speed.
Move over Bugatti, as the new king of speed now belongs to another B. Such is the case as BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme becomes the first production car to break the 500 km/h barrier, achieving a staggering 503.17 km/h during a top speed attempt in the deserts of Abu Dhabi.
Achieved on a closed section of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) with driver Marc Basseng behind the wheel, this latest run by the BYD hypercar actually surpasses its own previous record of 496.22 km/h set last year in Germany. And it is worth highlighting too is that the record before that was also incidentally held by the same car, with its then 472.41 km/h run only narrowly eclipsed the 475 km/h ICE production car record set by the SSC Tuatara.
In delving a little deeper into the specifications of this record-shattering EV meanwhile, the U9 Xtreme is equipped with four electric motors, each rated at 755 PS, for a combined system output of 3,018 PS. That is more than double the power of the standard U9, which already boasts a rather healthy 1,306 PS.
The U9 Xtreme also proudly debuts as the first production EV to utilise a 1,200-volt electrical architecture, paired with significantly denser batteries capable of an ultra-high 30C discharge rate. Other chassis upgrades over the standard U9 include uprated dampers and aviation-grade aluminium alloy suspension arms all around, as well as a titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system and custom semi-slick Giti tyres engineered to withstand the immense demands of speeds exceeding 500 km/h.
While technically a production car, the U9 Xtreme is nevertheless limited to just 30 units worldwide. Expect to see a few more of these hypercars on the road rather soon though, as BYD has stated that some customers have already approved their bespoke specifications and are moving into contract signing and production scheduling.
