Chinese Hypercar with Incredible Power Tested by Famous Presenter
The most extreme new hypercar from China, which has already pushed the limits of physical possibilities, has been handed over to Richard Hammond. Last year, the YangWang U9 Xtreme reached a speed higher than any production car before it, recording 496.22 km/h on the high-speed oval at ATP Papenburg in Germany.
However, since the run was performed in only one direction, the official two-way average speed record for production cars is technically still held by the SSC Tuatara with a figure of 455.3 km/h.
This thrilling result instantly propelled BYD’s halo car into the category of unique automobiles. Wanting to demonstrate this achievement to a wider audience, BYD invited Richard Hammond to become the first Western journalist to get behind the wheel of this car.
Track Testing and Past Speed Lessons
As Hammond himself admits in the video, he doesn’t have the best reputation for handling ultra-fast and ultra-powerful cars. In 2017, he crashed the all-electric 1224-hp Rimac Concept One while filming The Grand Tour. And back in 2006, he was seriously injured after crashing a dragster while filming Top Gear.
BYD obviously placed great hope in him keeping the U9 Xtreme in one piece, considering that this electric beast with four motors produces a maximum of 2978 horsepower, which is the highest figure among production cars.
Clearly, the journalist behaved very cautiously on the track, especially since the day before, a BYD test pilot had already spun the car and hit the barrier. Nearly 3000 horsepower under the accelerator pedal requires heightened attention.
Getting Acquainted with Other Chinese Electric Cars
This is not Hammond’s only recent video shot in China. At the end of last year, he took part in something akin to a Chinese version of Top Gear, embarking on a journey with three presenters. In that video, he drove three of the most impressive new electric cars from China: the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, the ‘regular’ YangWang U9, and the luxurious Maextro S800.
The clip was initially published only on Chinese social media but was later translated and uploaded to YouTube. It is truly worth watching.
Western car enthusiasts and experts are increasingly paying attention to the Chinese automotive market, especially the electric vehicle segment. Visits by prominent figures like Richard Hammond not only raise awareness of specific models but also signal the growing global competitiveness of Chinese manufacturers. Speed records, such as that of the YangWang U9 Xtreme, are becoming a powerful marketing tool that is changing the perception of the Chinese auto industry from a producer of affordable cars to a creator of high-tech and extreme automobiles. This points to a deep transformation of the industry and its ambitions on the world stage.