This could be probably the most talked-about Chinese automobile straight away – The Yangwang U9 Xtreme, fresh from its record-breaking tour, has made an appearance at Auto Guangzhou, letting us stand up close and private with BYD’s extraordinary electric supercar.
In case you were living under a rock for the past few months, the Xtreme is the more, well, extreme version of the U9. That automobile already possesses some impressive numbers, equipped with 4 motors that together produce 1,306 PS (960 kW) and 1,680 Nm of torque, getting it from zero to 100 km/h in 2.36 seconds on its approach to a top speed of 300 km/h.
But with the Xtreme, BYD has thrown caution to the wind and built a no-holds-barred, no-expenses-spared speed monster. Each wheel is powered by a 1,200-volt electric motor that alone churns out 755 PS (555 kW), leading to a scarcely-believable total system output of – are you sitting down? – 3,018 PS (2,220 kW).
These motors should not only hugely powerful but may also spin as much as 30,000 rpm, enabling Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Marc Basseng to succeed in an astonishing top speed of 496.22 km/h on the Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) oval in Germany. As such, the Xtreme beats the previous EV top dog, the Rimac Nevera R (431.45 km/h), and even the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (490.484 km/h) – and as those that watched the record-breaking video would have known, the automobile would’ve easily touched 500 km/h given enough room.
And that’s not all. The Xtreme also lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6 minutes 59.147 seconds within the hands of one other German racer Moritz Kranz – nearly six seconds quicker than the also-electric Xiaomi SU7 Ultra (because it thoroughly should, given it has almost twice the ability).
Although BYD is claiming production records for each, the corporate stretched the bounds of acceptability for the highest speed run by removing the rear wing and taping up the shutlines to scale back drag. For the record (pun not intended), land speed records generally specify a two-way average as a requirement, which is why the “true” (independently verified, if not recorded by an official body akin to Guinness World Records) top speed production title still belongs to the SSC Tuatara at 455.3 km/h.
This takes nothing away from the Xtreme’s achievements, which come because of not only the upgraded motors but additionally the revised DiSus-X energetic suspension, now running at 1,000 volts to raised stabilise pitch and roll. There are also carbon ceramic brakes with six-piston front callipers and custom GitiSport e.GTR2 Pro tyres which have been designed to hit 500 km/h.
No mention concerning the battery (which has likely been uprated to deliver more power to those hungry motors) nor a spread figure (the present U9 can travel 450 km on the CLTC cycle using an 80 kWh Blade LFP battery).
On the skin, the Xtreme is ready apart through an extended front splitter and 20-inch wheels which can be an inch smaller than usual, wearing 325/35 R20 tyres throughout (!). The large swan-neck rear wing and energetic diffuser is retained, as is the cabin with its 10.25-inch instrument display and slim centre console with a 12.3-inch portrait infotainment touchscreen. The record-setting automobile on display encompasses a full carbon fibre roll cage and a number of other signatures to commemorate the successful attempts.
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This Article First Appeared At paultan.org
