Yangwang U9 Extreme goes ludicrous speed

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

By Matt Bird / Friday, 6 November 2026 / Loading comments

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."