20 hours ago
12
Not content with setting a new EV production car speed record, BYD’s Yangwang brand has now overtaken the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ to become the world’s fastest production car of any kind.
Electric Cars
BYD appears to be on a mission to surpass any established performance brand it can.
Through its ultra-prestige Yangwang sub-brand, BYD has been on a mission to set new performance records in a number of fields.
The latest record attempt sees the Yangwang U9 Xtreme supercar wrestle the title of world’s fastest production car from the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+.
The U9 Xtreme, previously known as the U9 Track Edition, set a top speed record of 496.22km/h at Germany’s Automotive Testing Papenburg in September 2025, surpassing the 490.48km/h set by Bugatti in 2019.
BYD's result was not two-way, to account for differences in wind and gradient – the record was measured in only one direction – however, nor was the speed set by Bugatti in 2019.
In August 2025, the Yanwang U9 Xtreme (under its previous Track Edition name) set a top speed record of 472.41km/h, which gave it the EV production car record, beating the 2024 benchmark set by the Aspark Owl, at 438.7km/h.
The Yangwang U9’s trophy haul also includes a record-setting Nürburgring Nordschleife lap time of six minutes and 59.157 seconds, faster than the 7:04.957 time set by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in June 2025.
The regular Yangwang U9 features an already-impressive 960kW combined output from its four-motor, 800-volt electric drivetrain, but the U9 Extreme steps up to a 1200-volt electric architecture with a combined 2220kW – making it the most powerful production car ever built.
The regular U9 boasts a top speed of 391.94km/h, 104.28km/h lower than that of the U9 Xtreme.
Other changes to the U9 Extreme see the U9’s 21-inch staggered-width wheels swapped for slightly smaller 20-inch wheels with 325mm-wide tyres front and rear, in place of 275mm front tyres on the regular model.
The Pirelli P Zero tyres of the U9 are also swapped out for a set of GitiSport e·Gtr2 Pro semi-slick tyres, rated to a top speed of 500km/h.
Production of the U9 Xtreme will reportedly be capped at 30 examples globally.
Pricing for the regular U9 starts from 1.68 million yuan ($AU358,000), with BYD yet to announce pricing for the U9 Xtreme.
Electric Cars Guide
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
