Around the ‘Ring: Yangwang U9 Xtreme smashes Nurburgring EV record
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme has taken the title for the world’s fastest electric car at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, after setting a lap time of six minutes, 59.157 seconds.
The BYD-owned carmaker’s record-breaking run concluded an 11-month testing period at the circuit. By smashing the existing best time by more than five seconds, the achievement also marked the first time a vehicle in the Electric Super Sports Cars class dipped under the seven minute barrier around the fearsome 12.9-mile circuit.
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme rides on a 1,200 volt platform shared with the regular U9 hypercar. However, the hardcore version – with its 2,959bhp quad-motor system capable of spinning up to 30,000 rpm – benefits from a series of upgrades.
The changes include an new cooling system, a new titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system, and bespoke semi-slick tyres. Moritz Kranz, a German sports car racer with more than 60 wins to his name in GT4, GT3, and LMP3, was responsible for delivering the record-breaking lap.
“The Nürburgring Nordschleife is the most demanding track, and our lap time is a testament to the development skills of BYD and Yangwang,” he said. “Without their intense work to balance a high-powered EV platform with the difficult demands of the chassis set-up, this great lap time would not have been possible.”
In August this year, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme became the world’s fastest production car after recording a top speed of 308mph at the Papenburg testing facility in Germany. In light of its most recent success at the Nurburgring, BYD’s vice president, Stella Li, believes it’s proof of what can be done when a manufacturer adopts a tech-driven approach to its cars.
“We are dedicated to pushing the limits of what can be achieved through technology, and the Nürburgring is such a legendary challenge for cars and drivers that it is only natural for our engineers to pursue their dreams there,” she said. “I congratulate the entire team on this phenomenal achievement.
“The limited-edition U9 Xtreme has proven that it is not only the world’s fastest car in a straight line, but also a vehicle with the performance and dynamic qualities necessary to break lap records on a circuit with a wide variety of corners.”
Yangwang has confirmed that just 30 U9 Xtremes will be produced and there is no word of whether it – or the standard car – will go on sale in the UK. As such, there is no news on pricing. However, the regular U9 starts from the equivalent of £175,000 on the Chinese market.
