BYD

The Yangwang U9 Extreme is the fastest car in the world. After hitting 308.4mph (496.22kph) in September 2025, it bloodied the noses of Koenigsegg, Rimac, Bugatti, and plenty of others, while making EV cynics raise an eyebrow. The Extreme comes with 2,978 horsepower, while the base U9 makes do with ‘just’ 1288. As I found out on a custom-built test track in China, that’s still plenty. Driving it was impressive, but it may have a tough job convincing traditional sports/supercar buyers to take the plunge.

Yangwang, for those who might not be clued up, is part of the BYD empire. Where the BYDs are for everyone, a Yangwang is a cut above—luxury, performance, and a ‘lil bit of ‘better than you.’ It’s aimed at the well-heeled.

Why might the U9 have a problem selling away from home then? Not because of the design: It’s a fearsome-looking thing. Long, low, and wide, it’s got the profile of a more traditional mid-engined supercar. For people who like that sort of thing, it’s certainly going to turn heads.

You can spec a big ‘ol wing to go on its rear deck, too, which will appeal to people who like big, pointy things, or who want to have their bag lunch on a different kind of table.  

It does the typical supercar things, too. Is doors open upwards, the interior is swoopy and its seats are suitably huggy for high-speed cornering. There are screens in all the right places, dials to switch modes and make other things happen, and all the right stuff to make you feel like you’re in a supercar. The performance figures match the looks, too. 0-60mph takes 2.36 seconds, with a top speed of 186 mph,. And thanks to an 80-kilowatt-hour BYD Blade Battery, it’ll do 280 miles on a charge (on the optimistic Chinese test cycle). Handily, it’ll take 500 kilowatts of charging power if you can find a station that’ll deliver it.

It’s hugely appealing if you’re a by-the-numbers bench race. But fire the name ‘Yangwang’ at an average Brit, and they’ll smirk, then ask what the hell you’re on about. If Porsche came out with a car like the U9, every magazine would have it front and center on the cover. With Porsche comes heritage, reputation, and ‘caché’ that makes middle-aged men part with money.

Yangwang, despite being part of the biggest EV/PHEV manufacturer in the world, doesn’t have an existing audience. It’s building the brand from the ground up. While BYD is well known beyond China’s shores for building sensible cars for sensible families, Yangwang and its ambitions are still relatively unheard of. 

The U9 is a statement piece, then, and it feels the part. A solid start if ever there was one. Being a BYD product, it comes with tricks, too. Its DiSus-X Intelligent Body Control System suspension is the most advanced the company makes, and can make the car jump over obstacles (low ones, but, still… it can actually jump), as well as enable it to dance for you.

Both are strange features to have on a ‘serious’ 1000-horsepower car, and I suspect will be used a handful of times by their owners before being left well alone. The e4 platform has a far more useful function: it controls torque distribution and fires its fearsome power to whichever wheel needs it most, which is handy for tracks and tricky conditions. 

It all sounds rather jolly, doesn’t it? The drive, mercifully, matches the trinketry. With 1288 hp and 1239 pound-feet of torque on board, it’s understandably fast. A handful of laps in the U9’s ‘sport’ setting had it primed to go ballistically quickly. A quick check of the controls in the pits revealed that the brakes are STRONG. What should have been a gentle tap caused the car to abruptly stop—a surprise for all concerned. Still, with that much power on board it’s better to have enthusiastic brakes rather than… not.

This may not come as a huge surprise, but in a straight line, the U9 is rapid. A gentle prod on the throttle lunges you forward; a more committed stab is unrelenting. Numbers go up in batches, the armco gets pleasingly blurry. In corners, the steering is direct and pleasingly pointy. It’s a point-and-shoot affair up until truly absurd speeds. Of course, pushing too hard will get you some understeer and tire squeal of shame, but gentle correction is easy here.

Photo by: Yangwang

Sitting low in the car, the visibility isn’t the best, but supercars aren’t supposed to be easy to see out of. They’re supposed to be fast and impractical and silly. The U9 is. The punchy brakes are a godsend too. Its magical suspension keeps the Yangwang remarkably flat through corners, also ably disguising its quite chunky 5456-pound curb weight.

As experiences go, it’s a good one. It helps that the entry fee is around $250,000 in China. That’s a lot of money, sure, but compare it to the other mega number EV super/hypercars out there. The $2 million Rimac Nevera, $2 million Lotus Evija, and various others are blindingly fast, but also very expensive in comparison.

With the U9 you get a lot of car for your money, and if you want a new EV supercar, alternatives are thin on the ground. But for the target European supercar or sports car buyer (at least over here), the Yangwang may well be too ambitious a swing. 

Realistically, the U9 costs the same as a well-specced Porsche 911. When people spend that kind of money, they don’t tend to sling it in risky spaces. Do buyers go for the tried, tested, almost sainted car from Germany (or equivalent Euro car), or the new kid on the block that can line dance on command? Sure, there’ll be the early adopters, people who really, really want the new kid on the block, and who want to drive anything other than a gas car, but I’ll wager there’ll be plenty more who’ll play it ‘safe.’

A lot of what makes purchases at that level worth their while is the provenance of the manufacturer. Ferrari’s V12 heritage, Lamborghini’s decades of wild cars, Porsche’s dominance in motorsport… They all demonstrate the place you’re sticking your money has form.

No matter how far it can leap, or how cheerily it’ll dance for you, the Yangwang hasn’t done the hard graft its heritage-laden competitors have. It may get there, but it’s a long road. 

Photo by: Yangwang

The Yangwang U9 is, from a brief run around a test track, a good time. It doesn’t need to dance or jump around to show off its talents; it just needs to be driven in anger. Once Yangwang’s had some time to show what it can do outside of China, and has convinced early adopters to part with a quarter of a million dollars, there’s a chance the U9 will catapult the brand to fame.

“A chance,” sadly, probably won’t be enough to turn heads from the off. Big numbers are one thing, but are they enough to make people put their money somewhere “new”? Porsche and company probably don’t need to worry just yet.

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