Yangwang’s Driver Lifted Early At 308 MPH And Now BYD Wants Another Go

  • BYD’s U9 Xtreme is powered by four electric motors delivering 2,978 hp.
  • No standard production car has ever exceeded 311 mph (500 km/h).
  • Global production of the U9 Xtreme will be limited to just 30 units.

Nearly a year has passed since BYD ran the limited-run Yangwang U9 Xtreme to 308.4 mph (496.22 km/h) and took the one-way top speed record for a production car. The Chinese carmaker isn’t done with it either. It’s now planning its next move, and that’ll be breaking through the 311 mph (500 km/h) barrier.

As part of BYD’s ongoing expansion in the UK, including the launch of its Denza brand, it had a large display at the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed. Attending the event was none other than BYD vice president Stella Li, who revealed that the brand will attempt to break its own record in November.

Read: China’s YangWang U9 Smashed Bugatti’s Speed Record But Still Isn’t Officially The World’s Fastest Car

While speaking with BYD brand and PR manager Li Yunfei, Stella Li noted BYD will head back to the Automotive Testing Papenburg proving grounds in Germany, where it set the record last year. An analysis of last year’s run indicated that test driver Marc Basseng had enough room on the circuit’s straight to pin the throttle for an extra 1.5 seconds, and could have blasted past 311 mph, a mark that companies like Koenigsegg and Hennessey have been speaking about for years, but have so far failed to eclipse.

Watch that run back and it’s obvious the car had more to give. As the hypercar quickly hit 305 mph (490 km/h), it began drifting out of the center lane and into the left lane, prompting Basseng to lift off the throttle before anything could go wrong. With perhaps some small aero tweaks, BYD may be able to ensure the car remains rock-solid as it reaches speeds no other production car has reached.

How Is It So Quick?

Yangwang’s Driver Lifted Early At 308 MPH And Now BYD Wants Another Go

At the heart of the Yangwang U9 Xtreme is a 1,200-volt electrical architecture and four electric motors producing an extraordinary 2,978 hp. Global production is being capped at just 30 units.

Although the U9 Xtreme has surpassed the one-way top speed record of the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, set back in 2019 at 304.77 mph (490.48 km/h), the SSC Tuatara still holds the official two-way record of 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h). If BYD wants to snatch that one away, it’ll have to find a location where it can run in both directions.

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Sources: BYC, CarNewsChina


The Auto World

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