Peter Lyon
September 22, 2025
The fastest car in town is no longer a Bugatti or a Koenigsegg. It’s Chinese. And it’s electric. The BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme has just claimed the title of the world’s fastest production car, with a record top speed of 496.22 km/h (308.4 mph).
The previous (controversial) record of 472.41 km/h, set by the brand when it was still known as the Track Edition, was also surpassed this time at the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg track in Germany.
In its production form, the electric hypercar is now known as the Yangwang U9 Xtreme (U9X for short). It has four electric motors that can spin at up to 30,000 rpm, producing 3,019 horsepower overall, two and a half times the 1,305 horsepower of the stock version.
The 800V configuration of the standard model has been replaced with a new 1200V ultra-high-voltage system, which provides such blistering performance. Additionally, this BYD Blade Battery has a 30C discharge rate, which allows it to discharge 30 times its capacity in an hour.
Upgraded DiSus-X suspension and specially designed Giti tires, which are designed to endure intense loads during circuit runs and, in this case, record-breaking speed attempts, are two more improvements on the U9 Xtreme.
Because of the short, straight stretches of ATP, which are only about 4 km long, it looks from the on-board video that the record-setting BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme could not even hit VMax in its attempt. According to BYD, over 500 km/h should be easily attainable with a longer run.
Despite its record-breaking run, the U9 Xtreme is not yet officially recognised as the fastest production car in history by the Guinness Book of Records. Although the official bookkeepers requested an averaged peak speed from a two-way run to lessen the effects of wind, the top-speed attempt, like its prior effort, was only conducted in one direction.
As of right now, the SSC Tuatara’s 455.3 km/h record remains the official record. In addition to setting the top speed record, BYD asserts that the U9 Xtreme is the fastest production EV to lap the notorious Nurburgring Nordschleife, clocking in at just 6 minutes 59.157 seconds. However, for whatever reason the official record has not yet been posted on Nurburgring’s official “Record Drives” website.
There will only be 30 of the record-breaking U9 Xtreme available globally so get your deposit down now if you want one. The price of the electric hypercar has not yet been disclosed by BYD, but it will initially only be available in China.
CARLIST THOUGHTS
It’s all well and good to set new world speed and lap records. But until the car competes on track against rivals from Europe and elsewhere, BYD’s cars will remain a mystery. It would be good to see BYD compete against the best hypercars in Europe on track, or possibly join the current 0–400-0 km/h race between Koenigsegg and Rimac.
