Meet the Chinese-built U9 Xtreme that hit 308.4mph

Chinese car giant BYD has claimed it has created the world’s fastest production car – and it’s electric. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme (U9X) hypercar – made by BYD’s sub-brand Yangwang – delivered a hair raising speed of 308.4mph, beating the 304.1mph achieved by the previous title holder, the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. The record was set at the high speed Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) oval test track in Germany by test driver Marc Basseng.

The Yangwang U9 Xtreme hypercar EV is an upgraded version of the U9 hypercar on sale now in China . Only 30 U9 Xtremes are being made globally, and they will likely come with a hugely inflated price compared to the normal £200,000 U9. However the U9X might still set you back far less than the €3.5million Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. The high speed moment was livestreamed in China, with Yangwang saying the new global speed record ‘redefines the sustainable hypercar’.

The U9 Xtreme is the world’s first series-produced 1200V ultra-high voltage platform; it has a optimized thermal management system and a re-engineered cooling system to support the 133 per cent increased total power output. The four motors each deliver 555kW and together generate 2958.96bhp. The U9 Xtreme uses BYD’s Blade Battery – the battery that made BYD not only famous but a pioneer among EV makers.

Launched in November 2022, Yangwang is BYD’s flagship premium new-energy vehicle (NEV) brand and is marketed by Shenzhen Yangwang Auto Sales Company. Marc Basseng, who has a long history in sports-car racing and endurance motorsport, said: ‘This record was only possible because the U9 Xtreme simply has incredible performance. ‘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.’

Yangwang commented that the U9X track record sets a ‘modern milestone in engineering’ and a ‘new standard in electric mobility, mixing unrivalled power and speed with zero emissions’. It’s important to note that the fastest production car record is factored from the average of runs in both directions, and the U9 Xtreme only reached its 308-plus speed one way. But as Bugatti’s past record was also reached one way only, the U9X’s achievement is no less monumental, and puts the two cars on even footing.

Last year Basseng managed a personal best of 233mph in the standard U9, before becoming one of very few people to ever make it into the 300-mile elite club in the Xtreme version earlier this month. Whether the U9X and Basseng’s time can be beaten by another model from this new era of electric hypercars remains to be seen, but for now it can be dubbed ‘the fastest car on the planet’.