Lightning quick! New fastest electric hypercar at the Nordschleife

The Yangwang U9 Xtreme is already the world’s fastest production car, and in August, the Track Edition variant became the quickest electric vehicle. Now, the U9 Xtreme has made its mark at the world famous Nürburgring Nordschleife by breaking the track’s Electric Super Sports Car lap record.

How it happened

German driver Moritz Kranz, a 10,000 lap veteran of the Nordschleife circuit during a career of GT racing, piloted the U9 Xtreme during the record breaking run, which took place in August, after over a year of testing by Yangwang at the 13 mile circuit.

The U9X took more than five seconds off the previous record held by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, with a time of 6 minutes 59.157 seconds, and also became the first electric hypercar to break the seven-minute barrier.

Powering the U9 Xtreme is the world’s first mass-produced 1200V ultra-high voltage platform, consisting of four motors, each capable of 30,000rpm and delivering a total output of 2,958bhp.

To combat the demanding corners and elevation changes that make the Nordschleife one of the world’s most difficult tracks to navigate, Yangwang made a number of changes to the U9 Xtreme. These included a completely redesigned cooling system, a new titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system, and GitiSport semi-slick tyres, all of which helped the U9X cope after reaching the heady heights of 308.34 mph.

Is the U9 Xtreme available to buy?

Yangwang, the luxury sub-brand of BYD, says no more than 30 units of the U9 Xtreme will be available to buy. While a specific price hasn’t yet been set, it is expected to cost significantly more than the standard U9, which recently had its price increased to $252,540 (£188,701) after news of the Xtreme’s record breaking exploits went global.

words: Mike Booth
pictures: BYD UK