Yangwang U9 sets new EV speed record
The Yangwang U9 has become the world’s fastest electric car after hitting a new top speed of 293.5mph.
The 3,000bhp hypercar smashed through the Aspark Owl SP600’s previous record earlier this month at the Papenburg test track in Germany.
The Yangwang U9 Track Edition set its record at the same proving ground where last year the Aspark snatched the title from the Rimac Nevera with a V-max of 272.6mph. Its record not only makes it the world’s fastest EV on earth but also puts it among the fastest road cars of any fuel type.
The U9 is the first supercar from BYD’s Yangwang performance sub-brand. Based on the 1,200V e4 platform, it features a quad-motor set-up which in the Track Edition delivers peak power of 744bhp per motor. Yangwang says that, in use, the U9 Track Edition delivers more than 2,959bhp. The standard U9, in comparison, produces a “mere” 1,288bhp.
Yangway hasn’t given 0-62mph or 0-100mph figures for the U9, but we would presume that like rivals such as the Aspark and Rimac it will reach the 62mph standard in well under 2 seconds.
Based on the U9 already on sale in China, as well as a major motor upgrade, the Track Edition features a bespoke carbon fibre front splitter to improve aerodynamics and uses electronically controlled adaptive suspension to deliver optimal on-track behaviour. Previously, Yangway has demonstrated the U9 performing a bunny hop using this technology.
The record was set by German driver Marc Basseng, who set the previous record at the wheel of the Aspark Owl SP600. He said: “Last year, I thought I’d peaked. I never expected to break my own record so soon — but here we are, at the same track, with new technologies that have made it possible.”
The Yangwang record comes hot on the heels of Mercedes-AMG claiming 25 new world records for EV endurance with its GT XX concept. The hyper-saloon from Affalterbach recently took the title for the longest distance travelled by an EV in 24 hours, as well as travelling the equivalent of the Earth’s circumference in a little over seven days.
