BYD Yangwang has reported another official accomplishment of its fully electric U9 hypercar. Racing on the Papenburg Automotive Testing Grounds in Germany – the same place where Rimac takes its EVs – it hit 496.22 km/h (308.3 mph).
The test run took place a week ago, but the company has only revealed the footage from it now. It has also supplied some interesting details. The record-breaking car is officially called the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, or U9X for short. Despite its extensive aero kit and heavy emphasis on track driving, it remains street-legal.
Also, while the standard U9 model utilizes four e-motors rated at 326 PS (322 hp / 240 kW), the Xtreme version gets a quartet of 755-PS (745-hp / 555-kW) motors, sending a combined 3,019 PS (2,978 hp / 2,220 kW) to the tarmac.
Equipped with a rapidly cooled battery capable of going through 30 full power cycles in an hour and wearing bespoke GitiSport e·Gtr2 Pro semi-slick tires, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme is officially rated for 500 km/h (310 mph) top speed.
According to the automaker, the same car also beat the best time set by the standard U9 at the Nordschleife, completing a full lap in 6 minutes 59.157 seconds. This is better than the 7 minutes 4.957 seconds of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
Only 30 such hypercars will be produced and shipped globally, Yangwang says. All prices are pending. The regular U9 model starts from 1,680,000 CNY in China, which currently translates into U.S. $236,215.
