The Yangwang U9 Xtreme has done it again. The Chinese electric hypercar has set another record as the fastest production car, and in doing so also became the first production car to break the 500-km/h barrier after reaching 503.17 km/h (312.65 mph) on a closed section of road in Abu Dhabi.
The latest run, which took place on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road earlier this week, bests the U9 Xtreme’s previous record of 496.22 km/h (308.4 mph), set in Germany last year. Yangwang, the luxury performance division of BYD, says the new run has been recognized by both Guinness World Records and the FIA as the highest speed achieved by a production car in a single-direction run and the highest speed achieved by an electric production car in a single-direction run.
German sports-car racer Marc Basseng was again behind the wheel. Unlike the previous run at Germany’s ATP Papenburg proving ground, the Abu Dhabi attempt used a public road that had been closed for the record attempt. About 10 kilometer (6.3 miles) of road were closed, of which 7 km (4.3 miles) was used for the top-speed runs.
After initial runs topped out at 490 km/h (304.4 mph), Yangwang engineers made some tweaks, adjusting the rear-wing angle, modifying the suspension software to increase rebound damping, and tuning tire pressures. Two more runs followed, with the second producing the record.
The record marks another milestone in the U9’s development program. A standard U9 reached 391.94 km/h (243.5 mph) in 2024, while the U9 Xtreme hit 472.41 km/h (293.5 mph) in August 2025 before setting its 496.22-km/h (308.3 mph) record a month later.
The U9 Xtreme uses four electric motors turning out almost 3,000 hp, with each motor capable of spinning to 30,000 rpm. Its 1,200-volt architecture can handle up to 1,000 amps, while its BYD Blade Battery can deliver extremely high discharge rates.
Last year, a similarly spec’d U9 Xtreme set a 6:59.157 lap time around the Nürburgring Nordschleife, becoming the first production EV to break the seven-minute barrier there. A Manthey kit-equipped Porsche Taycan Turbo GT subsequently beat that time with a 6:55.533 earlier this year.
Of course, all of these “fastest production car” runs come with a caveat, as such speed records depend heavily on how the attempt is defined. The Petersen Automotive Museum, for example, requires independent verification and two runs in opposite directions to account for wind and other conditions. Under those stricter rules, one-way runs such as the U9 Xtreme’s don’t qualify for its official fastest-production-car ranking.
Still, seeing an electric hypercar pushing beyond the 500 km/h threshold is impressive all on its own.
But for a couple of sketchy, short-lived gigs right out of college, Natalie Neff has had the good fortune to spend the entirety of her professional life around cars. A 2023 Chevrolet Bolt EV, 1972 VW Beetle, 2007 Porsche 911 Carrera S, and a well-loved purple-and-white five-speed Schwinn currently call her garage home.
