BYD’s Electric Hypercar Just Smashed Bugatti’s Top Speed Record

The YangWang U9 Xtreme has more than double the power of the standard model, and beat out rivals from SSC, Koenigsegg, and Bugatti

                                        https://www.carscoops.com/author/bradcarscoops-com/                                    

There’s a new production car top speed record, and a European car manufacturer has not set it, but rather BYD’s YangWang brand. Not long after the YangWang U9 Track Edition set an electric car top speed record, the car was renamed the U9 Xtreme, taken back to the track, and casually hit 308.4 mph or 496.22 km/h.

The vmax was achieved at the ATP Papenburg high-speed oval in Germany with Marc Basseng behind the wheel. Importantly, it was only set in a single direction, so technically, the SSC Tuatara’s two-way average of 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h) retains its title, for now at least.

Read: BYD’s Track-Focused Hypercar Beats Rimac As The World’s Fastest EV

However, in hitting 308.4 mph, YangWang did outdo the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ that was piloted by Andy Wallace to 304.77 mph (490.48 km/h) in 2019, also in a single direction.

High power is one of the key reasons behind the U9 Xtreme’s monumental top speed. It features four electric motors that combine to produce 2,978 hp, more than double the 1,288 hp output of the regular U9. It is also the first production car to feature a 1,200-volt platform and has significantly denser batteries than all other BYD models.

Just 30 examples of the U9 Xtreme are bound for the production line. While no price has been announced, we doubt BYD will have any trouble selling them.

An onboard clip shows the electric hypercar on its way to the record top speed. Basseng drove around the sloped curve of the oval at over 186 mph (300 km/h) before pinning the throttle and gaining speed at a truly shocking pace. The car roars past 280 mph (450 km/h) and 292 mph (470 km/h) with ease and doesn’t even appear to break a sweat reaching 308 mph (496 km/h).

It appears likely the car could have breezed past 310.6 mph (500 km/h), but Basseng had to lift off the throttle and jump on the brakes as the car started to drift towards the left-hand barrier next to the track.

A Nurburgring Record Too

It’s not just the top speed of the YangWang U9 Xtreme that’s impressive. BYD has also confirmed it has lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:59.157, snatching the EV production car record away from the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that lapped the circuit in 7:04.957 earlier this year.