The Chinese electric supercar Yangwang U9 with an upgraded powertrain accelerated to 472.41 km/h on the ATP test track in Germany, setting a new world speed record for road-legal electric vehicles. The previous record holder was the Croatian Rimac Nevera R, which had posted a result of 431.45 km/h earlier this summer. Its four-motor setup has a combined output of 2107 hp, while the upgraded U9 exceeded the 3000 hp mark. Each of the four electric motors delivers 555 kW, totaling approximately 3019 hp.
The record was set in the special Yangwang U9 Track Edition. The car was equipped with a 1200-volt electrical architecture, an active electro-hydraulic suspension, and special semi-slick tires from Giti Tire. Interestingly, during the record run, the supercar drove without a large rear wing – engineers decided that it could limit the potential top speed.
The Yangwang U9 appeared on the Chinese market in February 2024. The base version with 1306 hp already impressed with a result of nearly 392 km/h at that time. The cost of such a car starts from 1.68 million yuan (approximately 8.5 million UAH). However, the new upgrade has taken the model to a completely different league – over 3000 horsepower and a speed approaching 500 km/h.
BYD, which owns the Yangwang brand, has already announced the next challenge – a record lap at the Nürburgring. Previously, the U9 with a 1306-hp setup posted a time of 7:17.900 there, but this result was not officially entered into the record tables. Now, the upgraded version has every chance to compete with the current leader among production electric vehicles – the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which completed the track in 7:04.957.
The Yangwang U9 has not only surpassed the achievements of European supercars but has also opened a new chapter in the battle for speed records among electric vehicles.