BYD’s all-electric hypercar, the YangWang U9 Extreme, hits a record-breaking 308mph

A new hypercar has dethroned Bugatti’s record for the fastest production car, and unsurprisingly, it’s an electric vehicle. During a livestream at the Automotive Testing Papenburg testing site in Germany, the YangWang U9 Extreme hit a facemelting top speed of 496.22 kmph, or around 308.33 mph. That metric edges out the previous record from the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+, which achieved 304.77 mph in 2019.

Officially, the fastest production car record is factored from the average of runs in both directions, whereas the U9 Extreme only reached its 308 mph top speed one way. That’s not to minimize this achievement, whose pivotal moment from the livestream was highlighted by CarNewsChina, since Bugatti’s record was also a one-way run. Although it’s not surprising that the U9 Extreme was able to push these limits since it’s packed with four motors that produce just under 3,000 horsepower. The electric hypercar also runs on one of the world’s first 1,200V platforms, which offers better performance and efficiency, along with some weight reduction.

Like the Chiron Super Sport 300+, the U9 Extreme is going to be extremely limited with production capping at 30 units. There’s no price yet, but looking at those specs, this EV will likely have a high cost to match. However, with this latest achievement, the YangWang U9 Extreme shouldn’t have any trouble selling out quickly.