Fastest Just Got Faster: Yangwang U9 Xtreme Breaks 500 KM/H

YANGWANG, the luxury brand within BYD, the world’s largest manufacturer of electrified vehicles, has broken its own global speed record. The U9 Xtreme hypercar has passed 500 km/h, taking automotive technology into an entirely new era.

The new top speed of 503.17 km/h surpasses last year’s record of 496.22 km/h and earns the 3,019 hp U9 Xtreme two Guinness World Records: the fastest production car in a single direction, and the fastest electric production car in a single direction. The speed has also been ratified by the FIA, the international motorsport federation.

The record run took place on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra region on 1 November 2026. Behind the wheel once again was German racing driver Marc Basseng, who drove the U9X to the previous production car record at ATP Papenburg in September last year.

500 km/h is a barrier the automotive industry has chased for a century, but one that has proved impossible to reach with conventional combustion engines. With BYD’s fully electric motor and battery technology, YANGWANG’s engineers have taken production cars past 500 km/h in just three years since the U9 project began.

“I like to say our engineers are young, brave and maybe a little crazy, but in a good way! Once again, we congratulate them and the entire YANGWANG U9X team on an incredible next step and these astonishing records. Even as the team celebrated 496.22 km/h in Germany last year, they were already going through the data and discussing how to take the U9X to the next level. 503.17 km/h is a fantastic achievement, and it moves the benchmark for pure electric power further ahead than others can dream of,” says Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD.