The ink has barely dried on the BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition’s 472km/h top speed record and already they’ve blown it out of the water, nudging the magic 500km/h barrier.
The new Yangwang U9 Xtreme has stormed into the record books with a 496.22km/h run at the ATP Papenburg test facility in Germany, eclipsing the Track Edition’s mark set only weeks earlier.
Behind the wheel was seasoned German racer Marc Basseng, the same driver who piloted the earlier record attempt. His steady hand guided the 3000hp-plus (2206kW) EV to speeds once thought impossible for a road-legal machine.
Unlike one-off prototypes, the U9 Xtreme is presented as a production-derived model. It builds on the Track Edition’s already radical specification with refined aerodynamics, bespoke tyres developed for extreme velocity, and a reworked stability and suspension package to ensure composure at close to 500km/h.
Yangwang says the car remains rooted in production intent, though questions will linger over how closely the record-setting car aligns with showroom examples.
The Xtreme’s feats aren’t limited to straight-line performance. In a separate demonstration, the hyper-EV lapped the Nurburgring Nordschleife in 6:59, becoming the first Chinese car to break the seven-minute barrier on the 21km circuit. That time places it alongside the most revered hypercars in history – a remarkable turnaround given the standard U9 only managed a 7:17 last year.
With two world-class records falling in quick succession, Yangwang has thrust itself into the conversation not just as a fast-moving disruptor, but as a genuine benchmark-setter.
Independent verification will determine whether the U9 Xtreme’s 497km/h blast and 6:59 lap stand as official production car records. Either way, the message is clear; the future of outright performance may well be electric, and Yangwang is determined to lead the charge.
We hope this spurs Hennessey, Koenigsegg and Bugatti on to snatch the mantle back and defend the honour of internal combustion.
