Chinese automakers are quickly becoming a formidable force when it comes to setting blistering lap times at the Nürburgring.
Shortly after Xiaomi set a record time of 6:46.874 for a four-door car on the German circuit with its stripped-down SU7 Ultra sedan prototype in October, BYD’s electric supercar Yangwang U9 just set a time of 7:17.900.
The U9’s time is not a record, but is still one of the fastest for a production electric vehicle. The car has been available in China since August, where it can be purchased for a starting price of €5. 1.68 million renminbi (about $232,000).
The record for production EVs remains the lap of 7:05:298 set by the 1,914 hp Rimac Nevera in 2023. Porsche’s 1,092bhp Taycan Turbo GT came close to that time, setting a 7:07.55 earlier this year, but had to remove that time. the back seat to achieve this.
Yangwang U9
The record for a production car of any type is the 6:29.090 set in October by the Mercedes-Benz AMG One hybrid hypercarThis means that EVs still have a long way to go to catch up to cars that still have a gasoline engine.
Yangwang is a new luxury brand from BYD, which overtook Tesla earlier this year to become the world’s largest electric car manufacturer. The U9 was first shown alongside a rugged SUV called the U8 at Yangwang’s launch in early 2023.
Yangwang U9
The U9 is powered by a four-wheel drive drivetrain with four motors with a peak power of 1,288 hpwhich, according to BYD, is enough to accelerate the car from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.36 seconds. The car was also tested with a top speed of 393.54 km/h. However, the car only reached a top speed of 270 km/h on the long straight during the ‘Ring lap, perhaps indicating that a faster time is still possible.
The U9’s motors are independently controlled to ensure power gets to where it’s needed, and handling also benefits from an advanced, adjustable suspension system known as DiSus-X. The system can deliver up to 75 millimeters of suspension travel in every corner and can even make the U9 jump into the air thanks to its high response speed.
Yangwang U9
The The U9’s battery is an 80 kWh unit According to BYD, the battery can charge at speeds of up to 500 kW. It’s not clear how many laps of the Nürburgring the U9 could complete at full power, although the car features a bespoke thermal management system designed to keep the battery cool during extended high-load situations, such as driving on a race track. The system relies in part on active aerodynamic properties to improve heat dissipation.
The interior of the U9 features all the details you would expect from a modern supercar, including a carbon fiber passenger compartment, 14-way adjustable sports seats and a high-quality audio system.