BYD's Yangwang U9 electric hypercar becomes world's fastest EV at 472km/h

The Yangwang U9 is now the world’s fastest production electric vehicle (EV) after setting a top speed of 472.41km/h (293.54mph) at a test track in Germany earlier this month.

The stunning speed, achieved by the new 2220kW quad-motor U9 Track Edition electric hypercar announced earlier this month, beats the previous outright EV top speed record of 438.73km/h set by a prototype version of the Aspark Owl 600 hypercar (the U9 is a production model).

It also eclipses the 431.35km/h top speed of the Rimac Nevera R, which holds a swag of records thanks to its 1571kW quad-motor electric powertrain. 

The Yangwang U9 Track Edition is also fast by combustion-engined vehicle (ICE) standards. In fact, it’s faster than the petrol-powered Bugatti Veyron (431.07km/h) and is knocking on the door of the quad-turbo W16-powered Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ (490.48km/h).

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The U9 Track Edition’s record was set at the same ATP Automotive Testing circuit where driver Marc Basseng achieved 375km/h in the standard U9 during testing 2024.

The U9 is a low-slung two-door coupe from BYD’s upmarket Yangwang brand – which is not present in Australia (yet) – featuring scissor doors and a ‘DiSus X’ intelligent body control system that allows it to perform 360-degree ‘tank turns’ and also ‘jump’ over potholes. 

The hardcore Track Edition flagship betters the standard U9’s already-powerful 960kW four-motor powertrain by adding what BYD claims is the “world’s first quad-motor system to feature 30,000rpm high output motors”. 

Each individual motor produces 555kW – slightly more than the output of the latest BMW M5 (535kW) – to deliver its whopping 2220kW total output, resulting in a claimed power-to-weight ratio of 895kW/tonne.

There’s no official acceleration time, but the standard U9 is claimed to hit 100km/h in just 2.36 seconds.

The four motors also work together to enable torque vectoring, ensuring optimal traction by reassessing torque delivery to each wheel more than 100 times per second, while the DiSus X system also maximises acceleration and traction by minimising pitch and roll to better leverage each tyre’s contact patch. 

As well as its monstrous power upgrade, the Track Edition runs 20-inch alloy wheels and receives a carbon-fibre roof, fixed carbon-fibre rear wing and a rear diffuser with adjustable elements to adjust downforce and drag settings.

The U9’s record comes days after Mercedes-Benz announced an EV distance record for its Concept AMG GT XX – which is powered by a three-motor electric powertrain that’s set for use in the 2027 AMG GT 4-Door super sedan – after covering 5749km in 24 hours at an average speed of 300km/h. 

While BYD says it has no plans to launch the Yangwang brand in Australia, it will introduce the Denza luxury brand here in October 2025 – with several models from other BYD-owned brands mooted to wear Denza badges here. 

The U9 could be one of these models, along with the B5 and B8 off-road SUVs sold in China under the Fangchengbao name – and the Yangwang U8 luxury SUV which has been spied on Australian roads. 

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