BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme sets new production car speed record – 496.22 km/h beats Bugatti and Rimac
In August this year, BYD revealed it had set a new electric vehicle (EV) top speed record of 472.41 km/h with its Yangwang U9 Track Edition. Not content with that result, the Chinese carmaker returned to the high-speed oval earlier this month and managed an even higher top speed of 496.22 km/h.
The returning electric hypercar, now known as the Yangwang U9 Extreme, achieved this feat at the Automotive Testing Papenburg test track in Germany, which was where the previous record was set. With a top speed of 496.22, the U9 Xtreme (formerly U9 Track Edition) further extends its lead over the previous EV top speed record holder, the Rimac Nevera R that managed 431.45 km/h.
If that isn’t enough, the BYD EV is also the world’s fastest production car, eclipsing the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ that hit 490.484 km/h back in August 2019. However, because the U9 Xtreme’s record was only logged in a single direction, the SSC Tuatara still retains the official two-way average title with 455.3 km/h.
To get to the face-melting top speed, the U9 Extreme packs plenty of power, with each of its four electric motors rated at 755 PS (744 hp or 555 kW) for a total system output of 3,018 PS (2,977 hp or 2,220 kW). This is more than double that of a regular U9 that packs 1,306 PS (1,287 hp or 960 kW).
The U9 Xtreme is also the first production EV to utilise a 1,200-volt electrical architecture and has significantly denser batteries, the latter capable of a 30C ultra-high discharge rate. The dampers also have a wider bandwidth, while the suspension hardpoint structures have been optimised for wider tyres and aviation-grade aluminium alloy is used for the front and rear suspension arms to work with the optimised suspension geometry.
Other upgrades include titanium alloy brake callipers and custom tyres that can withstand the demands of high speeds up to over 500 km/h. Will you be able to buy one? Yes, but only 30 units are scheduled to be built, with each unit likely to cost significantly more than a standard U9 that starts at 1.68 million yuan (about RM994k).
If securing two top speed titles wasn’t a big enough flex, BYD also revealed that the U9 Xtreme lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:59.157 minutes, effectively stealing the EV production car record from the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that set a time of 7:04.957 minutes earlier this year.
