I took a ride in the Denza Z9 GT – the next generation of Chinese fast luxury EVs coming to the UK
Prepare to have your mind blown by the quality, and your body pinned to the seat by the acceleration
"Make sure your head is against the headrest when we hit the start line, this thing can give you whiplash." Comforting words from the professional racing driver behind the wheel, as we prepared to race the Denza Z9 GT up the hill climb at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
To look at this four-door grand tourer, brake-neck speed wouldn't be your first thought. It looks expensive, and inside it is beautifully finished with just about every gadget under the sun. From its massage seats with ventilation and heating, finished in Nappa leather, to the digital side mirrors and Devialet audio system, and even a storage box that can be cooled like a fridge or heated to keep food and drink at the right temperature.
Under the hood, though, this car has a lot more in common with the high-performance Denza Z supercar, which has been revealed over on the stand. The Z9 GT features a tri-motor setup, giving it a jaw-dropping 1156 horsepower.
A passerby, as we cued for the starting line, thought he'd misheard when we told him the power. That's more than the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT and gives it a 0-62 mph acceleration time of just 2.7 seconds.
As we pootled to the start line with the air con on high, my seat massage kneading my spine and a live feed of the Festival of Speed track coming from YouTube on my passenger display, I could imagine doing long distances in this car.
While the range figure is a fairly standard 373 miles, it does support BYD's flash charging of up to 1500kW to charge from 10% to 97% in just 9 minutes. Provided you can find one of the new flash chargers, of course.
As the light turned to green on the starting line and my driver floored the accelerator (complete with boost mode), the calm interior suddenly became very different. Pure power pinned me back to the seat and then threw me forward as those large ceramic brakes kicked in before the first turn.
The handline was seriously impressive and we crossed the finish line in well under a minute. A grand tourer with a wild side, the Denza Z9 GT is a killer combo, and the good news is that it's coming to the UK.
Expected to arrive later this year, prices will start from £105,000. Whether it will tempt people away from the likes of the Taycan, Audi E-tron GT or the Lotus Emeya, is yet to be seen, but it will certainly give them a run for their money – and a fast one at that!
