BYD officially launched its first electric supercar last year, the two-door U9, under its Yangwang luxury brand. Within months, it was spotted being tested to reach speeds of 375 km/h, well above the original claim of 309 km/h. That was off the back of a 960 kW quad-motor powertrain, or almost 1,290 HP.
Now, details from regulatory filings in China show that the U9 supercar has a hypercar variant about to be launched, featuring a whopping 2,978 HP or 2,200 kW, thanks to a quad 555 kW motor powertrain.
This would make the U9 likely the most powerful electric production car from any brand globally.
Other hypercars such as the Rimac Nevera and Lotus Evija have powertrains that hover around 1,500 kW output, which the upcoming U9 will easily eclipse.
The new U9 is also expected to feature the latest in motor technology, which BYD announced as part of its 1,000 kW charging announcement in March this year.
As part of that announcement, BYD announced the latest in electric motor technology the company had engineered for its future EV lineup.
This tech would have e-motors that can spin at speeds of over 30,000 rpm, the highest of any production vehicle.
These motors will also help deliver a power output of 580 kW with a power density of 16.4 kW/kg. That appears to be in line with what is seen with the Yangwang U9’s upcoming 555 kW motors.
The new motors will also have new Silicon Carbide power chips to ensure they can handle the high voltages and currents in this new platform.
The Yangwang U9 has been a halo car by the brand, and having hit the 375 km/h speeds in August last year, it’s continued to gain media attention.
Latest reports this year suggested that the car was now testing at the iconic Nürburgring racetrack.
In a video posted by Drivegreen on X, a red U9 is spotted on the track ahead of its official track time which is yet to be released.
The updated U9 will likely be even faster than the current model, which can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 2.36 seconds, making it the fastest-accelerating BYD vehicle.
The current car is equipped with an 80 kWh BYD blade battery pack that’s capable of delivering up to 450 km of CLTC range, which, of course, in the real world is likely to be closer to 370 km on the WLTP cycle.
This supercar also supports the company’s latest 800-volt architecture with dual-input fast-charging capability. This helps the car charge from 30-80% in just 10 minutes.
On the pricing front, the U9 has a starting price of over $A232,064 and has been sold in showrooms across China.
Having seen the U9 in person at Yangwang showrooms and on a test track in Shenzhen in May, it’s a supercar that offers more than just a track experience.
With the new model only a few weeks away from being approved, it’ll set a new benchmark for what electric hypercars are all about. More details on the upcoming model are likely to be revealed before the end of the year.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
