Yangwang U9 Xtreme hits 500km/h speed record

A Yangwang U9 Xtreme has just become the first production car to exceed 500km/h. It managed a staggering 503.17km/h on a closed section of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road in Abu Dhabi. Yangwang is the luxury arm of BYD.

While it’s an impressive feat, it’s worth mentioning that this feat was achieved with a heavily modified version of the Yangwang U9 Xtreme. The car used had upgraded electric motors and produced a whopping 2,978hp – more than twice the U9’s standard output of “just” 1,252hp. 

In doing so, Yangwang says it has claimed the Guinness World Records for highest speed achieved by a production car in a single-direction run, and highest speed achieved by an electric production car in a single-direction run.

It broke its own single-direction record of 496.22km/h set last year at Germany’s ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg.

You might notice that it isn’t the fastest production car in the world – that title still belongs to the SSC Tuatara, which managed 455.3km/h back in 2021. That’s because a bi-directional run is required to claim that record, to remove any environmental variables (gradient in the road, and wind, etc.), and the Yangwang only managed that top speed in one direction.

It’s unclear why Yangwang didn’t head back in the opposite direction. One can only assume that conditions were unfavourable in the other direction. Regardless, going past 500km/h, even in one direction, in a car, is a huge achievement.

Naturally, the feat has garnered quite a lot of attention in our forum, and if you want to join in the discussion, click here.

Source: BYD