The new eye-wateringly fast Denza Z is China’s answer to the likes of the Porsche 911, Mercedes-AMG GT and Maserati GranTurismo. But what sets this electric four-seat GT apart from its rivals is its devastating amount of power. Auto Express has confirmed the fully electric four-seater GT will be coming to the UK as part of a four-pronged attack by BYD’s premium, technology-focused sister brand, Denza, which is going to try and take on the might of Mercedes, BMW and Porsche. The Denza Z, which made its public debut at the 2026 Goodwood Festival of Speed, will be Denza’s flagship model and offered in three different forms: the standard hard-top Coupe, a convertible Spider, and a full-throttle Racing version. We had the chance to drive the standard Coupe model for a short drive on a racing circuit, giving us our first taste of this fascinating new entry to the high-end car market. All versions of the Z produce 1,583bhp, courtesy of a tri-motor powertrain that uses one motor up front and two at the rear. This is about the same amount of power as the Bugatti Chiron hypercar. That, plus 1,240Nm of torque, allows the coupe to do 0-62mph in just 2.25 seconds, reach 124mph in 6.36 seconds and go on a top speed of 186mph. The open-top version is nearly as quick, as is the standard Racing model. However, if buyers add the optional semi-slick tyres, the GT3-inspired model is capable of 0-62mph in a ridiculous 1.96 seconds, while the top speed increases to 217mph. Beyond that, an even more hardcore special edition with more than 2,000bhp is coming, designed specifically to set new lap records on the Nürburgring Nordschleife later this year. Denza says this version will do 0-62mph in less than 1.7 seconds, which would make it one of the fastest cars in the world. 50The 76kWh battery offers up to 254 miles of range and can be topped up from 10 to 97 per cent in a mere nine minutes. But only if you can find one of BYD’s new mega-powerful 1,500kW Flash Charging stations. Daniel Cabanillas, Denza’s head of product in Europe, told Auto Express that the Z has been tuned for European roads, and set up for both road and track. The chassis features DiSus-M, an intelligent magnetorheological (electro-magnetic) body-control system, similar to that found on the latest Chevrolet Corvette, which should keep body movement in check through corners. Coupe and Spider models pair this with air suspension, while the Racing gets simpler coil springs. Meanwhile, stopping power comes in the form of carbon-ceramic brakes, featuring six-piston calipers up front. With its sharp, low nose, short bonnet and sleek cab-forward silhouette, the Denza Z looks more like a supercar than a traditional GT. So much so that you wouldn’t guess it has a set of back seats. There’s definitely hints of Lotus and McLaren in the design, plus some Maserati and, to our eyes, even a touch of Lamborghini. Perhaps that’s not too surprising, given that the man styling Denza’s products and ensuring they have a European flavour is the former chief designer at SEAT, Alfa Romeo, Audi and Lamborghini, Wolfgang Egger, who penned the timeless Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. The front of the Z features an ‘S-Duct’, like you’ll find on the Ferrari F80 hypercar, that channels air through the nose and out of the bonnet to boost downforce. Combined with all the other aerodynamic elements on this car, the Denza Z generates up to 1,060kg of downforce at top speed. The special-edition, potentially record-breaking model we mentioned earlier will add carbon-fibre body panels to cut weight, and more aggressive aerodynamics that, Denza claims, will produce more than 2,000kg of downforce at 186mph. 50Inside, the Denza Z doesn’t deliver the same level of quality or sense of prestige as its European rivals. But it does feature a sharp 8.8-inch driver’s display and a 12.8-inch touchscreen with Google Maps and other services built-in. There’s also a ‘theatre-grade’ sound system from French specialist firm Devialet, which is used to pump in a virtual engine sound that we’ve yet to hear. The back seats are only suitable for small children, or for weekend bags. But there is a 250-litre boot as well, which is roughly twice as much luggage space as the Porsche 911 offers, plus the rear seats can be folded down to create 550 litres of space. Naturally, the Spider offers less boot capacity due to the retractable roof, but its 131-176 litres is on par with the Maserati GranCabrio. Practicality is probably the last thing on the mind of potential buyers of the Racing model, and they will be able to replace the rear seats with a roll cage and carbon-fibre trim in this one. The Denza Z will go on sale in the UK later this year, when the brand’s first dealerships open their doors. Prices will start from £142,900 for the Coupe, £159,900 for the Spider and £172,900 for the full-throttle Racing version. So it’s got more than twice the power of a Porsche 911 Turbo S, and costs up to £56,000 less. 50Climb inside the Z and you’ll probably reach for the seat height adjuster immediately; sadly the floor mounted battery means you’re perched up high even in the lowest setting. Ahead you’ll find a thin-rimmed, squared-off wheel and a digital dash, supplemented by a large 12.8-inch infotainment touchscreen in the centre. Visibility is good, helped by the fact you’re forced to sit in a raised position. We're in the base Coupe for our short stint at Goodwood, but we’re not able to play with the drive modes, of which there are plenty. On the wheel you’ll find a multitude of switches, including buttons for Boost and Track modes. The former ‘amplifies throttle torque’ by 30 per cent for 20 seconds, while the latter opens up configurability for the Z’s front-to-rear power distribution, dampers, regen, brake feel, torque vectoring and drift mode. These settings could dramatically change the feel of the car, and this plus the fact that we only had one fast lap, means that a definitive conclusion on how the Z drives will need to wait until later. Pulling out of the pits, the traction control holds the Z back initially – for longer than seems necessary – but once the power comes on stream it’s relentlessly fast. It doesn’t actually feel like nearly 1600bhp but the way it sucks up Goodwood’s straights in a sustained, silent rush focuses the mind, and you arrive at corners carrying huge speed and momentum. Initially, the brake pedal doesn’t feel particularly confidence inspiring, and it’s clear the Z is carrying a lot of weight and therefore momentum, particularly over bumps. The suspension’s Comfort mode probably doesn’t help this. The steering has sharp responses and it's firmly weighted, but quite sticky around the straight ahead and doesn’t feel as attached to the front of the car as we’d like given this car’s performance. 50There’s not much opportunity to feel the Z’s torque vectoring in the fast sections but through tighter corners it does seem to help keep a tight line when accelerating out of the corners. It's not as subtle and seamless as it could be, but the power of the system can be felt. When deploying its huge power, the Z is heavily restricted by the traction control so you can't detect any playfulness, but turning in on the brakes does generate some yaw. Helpful in slow corners but again, not very reassuring in Goodwood's fast sections where confidence and stability is everything. Initial impressions are that the Z is far from a natural track car, but one that does have the hardware to be really effective with better software tuning. Perhaps the Racing would fare better, or the even more extreme Special Edition, which is launching as a track-only version with over 2000bhp, a 0-62mph time of 1.7sec and claimed downforce of over 2000kg at 186mph. Either way there's still work to be done for it to be as intuitive and engaging as Europe’s best.