Yesterday

Yangwang U9 Extreme goes ludicrous speed

300mph wasn't enough for Yangwang - now it's cracked 500km/h as well...

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We’ve heard a lot about the Yangwang U9 Extreme ever-increasing terminal velocities over the past few months, nudging closer to 300mph and then beyond the magic triple ton during 2025. Now BYD’s hypercar has completed another record run, claiming the Guinness World Record titles of Highest Speed achieved by a Production Car in a single-direction run, and Highest Speed achieved by an Electric Production Car in a single-direction run (the certificate must be massive) by surpassing 500kph.

Specifically it hit 503.17kph, or 312.65mph, a truly extraordinary speed for something on four wheels. Yes, Bugatti was there first, but still: there aren’t very many cars that can do 212.65 mph, let alone another 100mph. Let’s not forget, either, that the U9 Extreme has a 3,019hp electric powertrain - it wouldn’t be a surprise if there was a little more in the tank… 

Beyond the risk that comes with attempting five miles a minute (!) in a car that once looked a little sketchy at high speeds (including a recent high-speed incident), this Yangwang record run took place on the public road - where previously it was the ATP Papenburg test track.

Alright, so it was the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) in Abu Dhabi, smoother than most tracks and probably longer than the M1, but still - it wasn’t a dedicated high-speed facility. Imagine when an owner gets one on an autobahn. 

Undeterred by previous efforts - or perhaps emboldened - Marc Basseng was driving once more. He said: “Breaking a world record once is extraordinary but doing it again in such a different environment is truly special.” It’s certainly been some world tour for the Extreme - which has included a sub-seven lap of the Nordschleife - of which just 30 will be made and some customers have already locked in specs for. So this really will be a production reality sooner rather than later. 

Stella Li, BYD Exec VP, said: "I always tell people that our engineers are young, bold and maybe a little crazy – but in a good way! And again, we must congratulate them and the whole Yangwang U9X team for an incredible next step and these astonishing records… 503.17km/h (312.65mph) is a fantastic achievement, and it moves the benchmark for pure electric power even further ahead of where others might dream."

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• Yangwang U9X is new ‘fastest car on the planet’
• 308mph U9 Extreme is now fastest 'ring EV too

[ex-devonpaul]

The Yangwang unine?

They're taking the ....

[SJfW]

Yangwang sounds like an improvised insult when you're 6 pints deep and arguing amicably with a pal.

Thats a dash-dodger cage and a half, wouldnt like to see what would happen there if it flipped, with or without the ducktaped padding.

[RBV8]

I read that it did crash on one of these high speed tests....

Yup, here we go > https://www.autoblog.com/news/byds-yangwang-u9-ext...

[InductionRoar]

Electric cars have done what quartz did to watches years ago.

The benchmark is no longer performance that makes one more desirable than another, it is character and emotion.

Early in the days of watchmaking there were prizes for accuracy. Now there are prizes for level of finish. Watchmakers know they cannot compete with quartz in accuracy so they don't bother.

[Hungrymc]

I've had a go in an none "extreme" one earlier this year ... That was bonkers enough.

[Geertsen]

Is it a Yangwang? Is it a McLaren?
It depends which angle you look at it from.

Maybe come up with your own designs going forward.

[fantheman80]

InductionRoar said:

Electric cars have done what quartz did to watches years ago.

The benchmark is no longer performance that makes one more desirable than another, it is character and emotion.

Early in the days of watchmaking there were prizes for accuracy. Now there are prizes for level of finish. Watchmakers know they cannot compete with quartz in accuracy so they don't bother.

Well said. Electric cars have made speed accessible and cheap. Its the sensation and feeling of how you get there which people are looking for now, hence restomods, hence no one cares about 1 gajillion horsepower cars.

[cirks]

His lane discipline throughout the run is better than most drivers' on the M25/M1/M4 etc

[Magikarp]

InductionRoar said:

Electric cars have done what quartz did to watches years ago.

The benchmark is no longer performance that makes one more desirable than another, it is character and emotion.

Early in the days of watchmaking there were prizes for accuracy. Now there are prizes for level of finish. Watchmakers know they cannot compete with quartz in accuracy so they don't bother.

It's timpieces. Only someone of unrefined, possibly even vulgar, taste would call them watches.

Imbuing inanimate items with soul, emotion, or character, is a clear sign of an imbecile.

[swisstoni]

InductionRoar said:

Electric cars have done what quartz did to watches years ago.

The benchmark is no longer performance that makes one more desirable than another, it is character and emotion.

Early in the days of watchmaking there were prizes for accuracy. Now there are prizes for level of finish. Watchmakers know they cannot compete with quartz in accuracy so they don't bother.

It's an interesting analogy. There is still a decent, but high-end market for mechanical watches. They are aspirational and a status symbol (to some, not me personally).

Remaining ICE car manufacturers are going to have to fight over a similar market imho. People who want to differentiate themselves and nerd over servicing, maintenance, values and collectibles just like watch enthusiasts.

Everyone else will be happy with their electric device which does the core job better but without the other stuff.

[bloomen]

With a clean sheet and the desire to make history, I still struggle to believe they made such a boring-looking car.

There could of course be practicality reasons at those speeds, but everything nearly as fast looks nowhere near as dull.

I wonder what the tyres were.

[InductionRoar]

Magikarp said:

It's timpieces. Only someone of unrefined, possibly even vulgar, taste would call them watches.

Imbuing inanimate items with soul, emotion, or character, is a clear sign of an imbecile.

You're a charmer aren't you? Timepieces is a collective term that watches fall under and it was specifically watchmakers who were affected by the quartz movement - hence my analogy.

I suppose you believe music or art can't have soul, emotion or character by that metric.

There is only one imbecile here.

[TikTak]

Very confused at first because I could have sworn this wasn't called the U9. Then realized these Chinese mega EV things blur into one and was thinking of the SU7.

Impressive if not somehow a little underwhelming too ...

[QuartzDad]

bloomen said:

I wonder what the tyres were.

Giti. No, me neither.

https://www.fia.com/news/yangwang-u9-xtreme-surpas...

https://www.giti.com/news/twice-in-a-year-giti-tir...

[MountainsofSussex]

Having just watched the previous scary crash bounce off the kind of forgiving armco, not sure I'd fancy doing 300mph past those rather solid looking poles in the middle of the road, with soft soil to dig into either side. Not sure the health and safety team from a European manufacturer would have signed that off... (but impressive how fast that thing accelerated on part throttle!)

[WPA]

So have Guinness changed the rules, I always believed for a record run to be official it had to be followed by a return run in the opposite direction

[geeks]

Mach 0.4ish, Marc Basseng has planet sized Yangwangs!

[bloomen]

WPA said:

So have Guinness changed the rules, I always believed for a record run to be official it had to be followed by a return run in the opposite direction

I assume their audience doesn't care about Guinness.

Doing it the once is enough and done it they have.

[Monkeylegend]

cirks said:

His lane discipline throughout the run is better than most drivers' on the M25/M1/M4 etc

He was all over the road at the beginning.

[chrisironside]

Magikarp said:

InductionRoar said:

Electric cars have done what quartz did to watches years ago.

The benchmark is no longer performance that makes one more desirable than another, it is character and emotion.

Early in the days of watchmaking there were prizes for accuracy. Now there are prizes for level of finish. Watchmakers know they cannot compete with quartz in accuracy so they don't bother.

It's timpieces. Only someone of unrefined, possibly even vulgar, taste would call them watches.

Imbuing inanimate items with soul, emotion, or character, is a clear sign of an imbecile.