New Denza Z promises 1,604hp for £142k
BYD gets serious with a sub-two-second alternative to the usual suspects
Is it a McLaren? A Bentley? Maybe, if you really squint, it’s an early Lamborghini Aventador. Trying to spot the most obvious design influence in the Denza Z is, on the surface of it, quite a fun game to play, and certainly trickier than identifying the biggest image pinned to the mood board of the Denza Bao 5. Yet any snobbery around this Z looks rather naive. This is BYD taking one, ginormous vault into the £150,000 sports car realm, its premium offshoot gaining a suitably theatrical halo car to make the brand’s big Goodwood FoS takeover just a mite more convincing.
Committing a £142,900 sum to an entry-level Z will be some leap of faith, mind you. But your reward will be a peak of 1604hp from its trio of electric motors and 0-62mph in a mite over two seconds. The design is the work of Wolfgang Egger - he is also responsible for the Alfa Romeo 156, 166 and 8C Competizione, plus the Lambo Sterrato-preceding Audi Nanuk concept - and he describes it as "a living sculpture of speed”. It’s easy to spot some shared cues with a host of other, established sports car rivals, but perhaps the two-tone orange and black scheme is doing a lot of the heavy lifting there. It’s certainly not what you’d call ugly and the slickest versions boast a 0.25Cd aero profile to help eke out range - and make ‘em quicker.
Three versions - the Coupe, Spider (£159,900) and Racing (£172,900) - all pack the same powertrain. Up front is a 680hp motor, while the rear axle gets a pair of 462hp units, for the headline 1,604hp and 914lb ft peaks. All will hit sixty-two in two seconds (or so); the Coupe and Spider claim a 186mph top speed, the Racing a 217mph vmax and 0-62mph in 1.96 seconds on its optional semi-slicks. A further Z Special Edition will be aiming for Nürburgring records with over 2,000hp.
For now, all three Zs boast double wishbones up front and a multi-link setup at the rear; the Coupe and Spider get air suspension while the Racing uses coil springs. Each boast a set of carbon-ceramic brakes to trim at least some fat - handy, when they all weigh upwards of 2,200kg. The battery uses BYD’s Blade technology, possesses 76kWh and can flash charge at up to 1,500kW. Range figures are as high as 254 miles in the Coupe, dropping to 236 in the Racing. Presumably not at trackday speeds…
Trackdays are something Denza surely hopes you explore. It’s heaped lots of tech at the Z - as one might expect, to help it stand proud of the Porsches and AMGs it now considers rivals - with plenty of torque vectoring potential, a ‘compass turn’ where “the car can use its front wheels as an axis and revolve its rear wheels around it,” plus a highly configurable Track mode where you can adjust the Z’s behaviour to your liking. “Drifting can also be activated through a one-touch function,” we’re told, “which uses the torque control and power steering to achieve fun drifts without driver needing to adjust the steering or accelerator inputs.”
It’s about as far from the analogue movement or rested culture as it’s possible to get - and PH has had a go. Stay tuned for driving impressions later in the week…
Or an 800bhp V8 Audi and 800bhp V8 Merc?
I think that looks pretty good (orange interior aside). How it handles and the build quality will be interesting.
Will it sell? Depends on the above, and also the support network.
£142k is an enormous ask for an unproven brand. So I suspect not But who knows.
BTW, 1000bhp+ on b-roads is no different to 200bhp+ on them. You have a joint called an "ankle" that you exercise with care
Given the popularity of a jaecoo right now, I can well see this being the people's choice to go ridiculously fast.
If other ev depreciation is anything to go by, In a few years these will be under £50k... and still with 1500bhp.
Think of how 20-25 year old males drive cars with only 400bhp now, then give them 1600bhp to play with. I predict carnage.
There's a road by our house that clearly has some youths blasting up and down it at 80mph. I know because my 300bhp car easily manages that. However with 1600bhp that 80mph will turn into 140mph, theres gonna be some huuuuuuge accidents coming.
The one plus side I see of this insanely cheap horsepower is that its electric, so near silent. At least kids will be ignorant of their impeding doom before it happens when they step out in front of someone doing warp factor 9 silently round a housing estate.
Alright on a £40k BYD but I'd be wanting something a little more interesting.
(The interior looks fine to me, despite the orange bits.)
I'm not a EVangelist, but I do like that BYD have made a sporty EV that undercuts Tesla's vapourware Mk2 Roadster.
Alright on a £40k BYD but I'd be wanting something a little more interesting.
Battery seems small too. Surprised they're able to such enough amps out of it to produce that much power.
Not sure many £40k cars come with a Devialet sound system and Nappa leather.
If you were to sit in and drive this it would blow your mind.......Cars like this need to be experienced, to appreciate the difference. A low res image on a web page not so much
What I don't get about this, and all the other Chinese supercars, is that they're all clean sheets. And they're all totally boring to look at.
This is wholly unstirring to gaze upon.
(The interior looks fine to me, despite the orange bits.)
I'm not a EVangelist, but I do like that BYD have made a sporty EV that undercuts Tesla's vapourware Mk2 Roadster.
They've just chucked a bit more copper in the mix. If a 500hp motor costs £5k then a £1000hp will be £8k, not 10x as much like a bespoke engine might be.
My car has 430hp and is sold for about £14k in China. You can have a 750hp car for £40k. It's a different mindset.
Alright on a £40k BYD but I'd be wanting something a little more interesting.
Battery seems small too. Surprised they're able to such enough amps out of it to produce that much power.
Not sure many £40k cars come with a Devialet sound system and Nappa leather.
If you were to sit in and drive this it would blow your mind.......Cars like this need to be experienced, to appreciate the difference. A low res image on a web page not so much
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