Key Points
- 496 km/h world record makes the BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme the fastest production car globally.
- Nürburgring lap time of 6:59 places it among the fastest cars to ever circle the track.
- 2,200 kW quad-motor powertrain outperforms rivals Rimac and Lotus by a wide margin.
- The U9 Xtreme surpasses both ICE hypercars and leading EVs, challenging long-held perceptions.
- Pricing is expected to exceed the A$230,000 base of the standard U9, with exclusivity likely to drive demand.
Chinese automaker BYD has once again raised the benchmark in high-performance electric mobility. Just weeks after setting a new world record with its first U9 Track Edition, the company’s luxury brand Yangwang has unveiled the U9 Xtreme, a hypercar that has rewritten both speed and track records.
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Breaking the Speed Barrier
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme reached a staggering 496 km/h, making it the fastest production car in the world. This achievement eclipses the top speeds of legendary internal combustion hypercars from Bugatti and surpasses the Rimac Nevera by 80 km/h, which tops out at 412 km/h.
BYD’s accomplishment is not limited to straight-line performance. The U9 Xtreme clocked a lap time of 6 minutes and 59 seconds at the Nürburgring in Germany, placing it among the fastest production cars ever to lap the track. For context, the previous fastest EV lap belonged to the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra at just under 7:05.
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Power Beyond Rivals
The foundation for the U9 Xtreme’s dominance lies in its advanced powertrain. Reports from China confirm a quad-motor setup delivering a combined 2,200 kW (approximately 2,950 horsepower). This places it well ahead of competitors such as the Rimac Nevera and Lotus Evija, which produce around 1,500 kW.
The standard U9, launched in 2023, already featured a 960 kW quad-motor system with blistering acceleration of 0–100 km/h in 2.36 seconds. While exact figures for the Xtreme remain undisclosed, performance is expected to exceed these numbers.
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Specs and Performance Overview
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Price and Market Outlook
The U9 has been available in China since 2023, priced from the equivalent of over A$230,000. The Xtreme variant, given its elevated performance and exclusivity, is expected to command a significantly higher price tag.
The car’s debut highlights BYD’s ambition to establish its Yangwang brand as a serious player in the hypercar space, competing directly with European giants while redefining what is possible with electric performance.
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