Yangwang U9 Xtreme - officially the fastest car on the planet!

• Chinese brand Yangwang claims ‘world’s fastest car’ title
• Electric U9 Xtreme hit 308.4mph
• Eclipses all other cars - not just EVs
• Record previously held by petrol Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+
• Yangwang - performance division of BYD - is coming to the UK

Unusual name, astonishing speed - because the Yangwang U9 Xtreme has just rocketed into the record books as the world’s fastest production car.

Yangwang is a high-end, performance subdivision of Chinese brand BYD. It’s earmarked to arrive in the UK as early as next year.

And Yangwang’s electric hypercar, the U9 Xtreme, has just posted a speed of 308.4mph on the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg test track in Germany.

That new benchmark doesn’t just make the Yangwang U9 Xtreme the world’s quickest EV, it also becomes the fastest car on the planet, full stop.

The Xtreme has even ousted the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ from its lofty perch, with the Bugatti having previously set a speed of 304.7mph during its own record run in 2019.

The U9 Xtreme, or ‘U9X’ for short, will enjoy a production run limited to 30 units.

It’s based on the regular U9 coupe, which is currently on sale in China with a starting price of around £200,000.

How is the Yangwang U9 Xtreme different from the regular U9?

The U9X gets an upgraded powertrain with 1200V ultra-high-voltage electrics (compared with 800V for the standard U9), as well as a lithium iron phosphate Blade Battery, four ultra-high-speed motors that operate at up to 30,000rpm and produce a total of more than 3000 PS.

Base Yangwang U9 models make do with a still-hefty 1,300 PS.

The U9X was shod in track-level semi-slick tyres and also featured revised ‘DiSus-X’ suspension with specific tuning to cope with the increased stresses of circuit driving.

BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li said: “This is an incredibly proud moment for everyone in the research and development division. Yangwang is a brand that does not recognise the impossible, and only through this commitment to what’s coming next can you end up with a vehicle like the U9X.”

Yangwang’s test pilot was Marc Basseng, a German track specialist.

He added: “Technically, something like this is not possible with a combustion engine. Thanks to the electric motor, the car is quiet, there are no load changes, and that allows me to focus even more on the track.”

A year of firsts for Yangwang

Rewind a month, and the Yangwang U9 Xtreme was simply known as the ‘U9 Track Edition’.

And even before this latest feat, the beefed-up U9 had cemented itself as the world’s fastest electric vehicle, hitting a speed of 293.5 mph on the same test track - and piloted by the same Marc Basseng.

How much will the Yangwang U9 Xtreme cost?

Prices haven’t been disclosed just yet but you can expect the starting price to be way above the £200,000 base cost of the regular U9.

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