In August this 12 months, BYD revealed it had set a brand new electric vehicle (EV) top speed record of 472.41 km/h with its Yangwang U9 Track Edition. Not content with that result, the Chinese carmaker returned to the high-speed oval earlier this month and managed an excellent higher top speed of 496.22 km/h.
The returning electric hypercar, now referred to as the Yangwang U9 Extreme, achieved this feat on the Automotive Testing Papenburg test track in Germany, which was where the previous record was set. With a top speed of 496.22, the U9 Xtreme (formerly U9 Track Edition) further extends its lead over the previous EV top speed record holder, the Rimac Nevera R that managed 431.45 km/h.
If that isn’t enough, the BYD EV can also be the world’s fastest production automobile, eclipsing the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ that hit 490.484 km/h back in August 2019. Nevertheless, since the U9 Xtreme’s record was only logged in a single direction, the SSC Tuatara still retains the official two-way average title with 455.3 km/h.
To get to the face-melting top speed, the U9 Extreme packs loads of power, with each of its 4 electric motors rated at 755 PS (744 hp or 555 kW) for a complete system output of three,018 PS (2,977 hp or 2,220 kW). That is greater than double that of a daily U9 that packs 1,306 PS (1,287 hp or 960 kW).
The U9 Xtreme can also be the primary production EV to utilise a 1,200-volt electrical architecture and has significantly denser batteries, the latter able to a 30C ultra-high discharge rate. The dampers even have a wider bandwidth, while the suspension hardpoint structures have been optimised for wider tyres and aviation-grade aluminium alloy is used for the front and rear suspension arms to work with the optimised suspension geometry.
Other upgrades include titanium alloy brake callipers and custom tyres that may withstand the demands of high hastens to over 500 km/h. Will you have the opportunity to purchase one? Yes, but only 30 units are scheduled to be built, with each unit prone to cost significantly greater than a typical U9 that starts at 1.68 million yuan (about RM994k).
If securing two top speed titles wasn’t a large enough flex, BYD also revealed that the U9 Xtreme lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:59.157 minutes, effectively stealing the EV production automobile record from the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that set a time of seven:04.957 minutes earlier this 12 months.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
