Four Engines and More Than 3,000 HP: BYD Breaks the 500 Km/h Barrier

A new speed record has been set in the world of electric vehicles: BYD announced that the YANGWANG U9 Xtreme supercar reached a speed of 503.17 km/h during a test drive held on November 1, 2026 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

This made the car the first electric production car to cross the 500 km/h mark, and the fastest production car in the world.

The test was conducted on a track in the Abu Dhabi area, on Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Road, with test driver Mark Basseng behind the wheel. The speed measured surpassed the previous record, which was 496.22 km/h and was set in Germany.

The achievement was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records in two categories: maximum speed for a production car and maximum speed for an electric production car in one direction.

The U9 Xtreme is a high-end version of BYD's luxury brand YANGWANG U9 supercar. Its powertrain includes four electric motors, one for each wheel, with a combined output of more than 3,000 horsepower.

The car operates on a 1,200-volt electrical system, and is powered by a BYD Blade battery and a thermal management system designed to handle the high loads generated by driving at extreme speeds.

Alongside the powertrain, the car is equipped with the DiSus-X active suspension system, developed to improve body control and stability in varying driving conditions. The combination of systems is designed to cope not only with strong acceleration, but also with the engineering challenges of maintaining stability at speeds of more than 500 km/h.

YANGWANG U9 Xtreme crossed the 500 km/h mark in Abu Dhabi. Photo: BYD

The achievement adds to the model's record book: the U9 Xtreme also set the lap record for an electric car on the Nürburgring Nordschleife track in Germany, with a time of 6 minutes and 59.157 seconds.

Despite its achievements, BYD plans to produce the U9 Xtreme in a very limited quantity of only 30 cars. This model is intended for a limited audience and also serves as a demonstration of the company's technological and engineering capabilities in electric propulsion and extreme performance.