This Chinese electric hypercar just became the fastest production car in the world with a top speed of 312 mph, beating the Bugatti Chiron and Koenigsegg Jesko
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme is officially the fastest production car and the fastest EV production car after a record-breaking run in Abu Dhabi
Certified by the Guinness Book of Records, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme is the fastest production car in the world and the fastest electric production car in the world.
On 1 November, on a closed section of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) in Abu Dhabi, driver Marc Basseng took the Yangwang U9 Xtreme beyond the record he set in Germany of 496.22 km/h.
"At these speeds, every additional 1km/h is a huge effort," said BYD Executive Vice-President Stella Li. The goal was to break the 500 km/h barrier, which is 310.69 mph – and break it, he did.
The official top speed recorded was 503.17km/h (312.65mph), and you can watch the in-car recording on YouTube for proof.
Running on a 1200V system, the U9 Xtreme produces over 3000 mechanical horsepower from its four electric motors – 755PS per motor, with the ability to spin at 30,000rpm. The Blade Battery technology has 170% greater power density than an 800V system and allows faster decharge rates than other EV batteries.
The really interesting tech though is in the tyres. BYD worked with Giti Tire to create a semi-slick tyre that could cope with the extreme high speed required. Regular tyres just can't cope at these speeds.
This is, of course, a production car and so you can officially buy it. The U9 Xtreme was first shown at the 2026 Beijing Motor Show and is expected to cost around £3 million.
It's expected that the technology from the Xtreme will filter down to the rest of the BYD range in the future – though don't expect to be doing 300mph in your BYD Dolphin any time soon.
