BYD has grow to be one of many world’s largest automakers by gross sales quantity, primarily promoting reasonably priced automobiles, nevertheless it desires greater than that. By means of its Yangwang premium model, it desires to begin profitable clients from established luxurious automakers, and one of many methods it’s doing that’s by launching an ultra-high-performance electrical supercar.
It’s referred to as the Yangwang U9, and to show BYD means enterprise with its efficiency halo automobile, it introduced prototypes to the Nurburgring to place them via their paces. This is not going to solely assist it enhance the automobile’s observe efficiency, nevertheless it’s additionally a picture booster for a producer that at the moment no person associates with luxurious or efficiency, particularly outdoors China.
BYD is transferring up on the planet
With over 3 million vehicles offered all over the world in 2023, BYD is changing into an automotive big, nevertheless it additionally desires to provide vehicles that showcase its technical prowess, just like the Yangwang U8 and U9.
This can be a sensible transfer by BYD, following within the footsteps of Hyundai, which realized the significance of testing vehicles across the Ring to enhance the corporate picture. However that is extra than simply an image-boosting train—the U9 has the specs to warrant being honed round Europe’s most well-known race observe; it’s a severe efficiency automobile.
The U9 appears actually fast across the Ring. Its take a look at drivers are significantly on it on this video revealed by CarSpyMedia. The automobile may be seen firing itself out of corners and braking exhausting, with its rotors glowing red-hot because it approaches a number of the slower bends on the finish of lengthy straights.
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With 4 motors, one driving every wheel, the Yangwang U9 makes a mixed 1,287 horsepower and 1,239 pound-feet of torque. It’s pretty heavy, although, weighing in at slightly below 5,500 lbs, so it may’t problem a Tesla Mannequin S Plaid or a Lucid Air Sapphire, however hitting 62 mph from a standstill in 2.36 seconds nonetheless makes it among the many quickest-accelerating vehicles on the planet.
The Rimac Nevera, which has 1,914 hp from its 4 motors, is significantly sooner too, placing down a quarter-mile time of round 8.5 seconds to the Yangwang’s 9.87 seconds. The U9 remains to be supercar-quick, although, and its quarter-mile time is similar to that of a Porsche 911 Turbo S.
With a value of round $230,000 in China, the Yangwang U9 is fairly reasonably priced given its bonkers efficiency and radical appears—simply have a look at that massive rear wing. It rides on a bespoke EV platform with trick suspension that not solely eliminates roll via the corners, however it may truly make the automobile bounce or drive on three wheels like an outdated Citroen. It could actually cost at a reported 500 kW, which is sweet for a 30 to 80% cost in simply 10 minutes, per BYD.
It attracts from an 80-kilowatt-hour BYD Blade battery pack with an LFP chemistry, which ought to give it a spread of 289 miles on the CLTC take a look at cycle. That vary shall be unattainable to realize in the actual world provided that CLTC yields very optimistic vary rankings (much more so than Europe’s WLTP) and whoever drives this gained’t chorus from utilizing its energy or lively suspension, each of which can end in a lot faster draining of the battery.
BYD will not be messing round with the Yangwang model, additionally used for the U8, its impressively succesful extended-range electrical SUV. The one drawback, which can floor the second it tries to promote automobiles bearing this model in Europe or the US, would be the identify—no person desires to spend almost $230,000 or extra on one thing referred to as Yangwang; it must provide you with a greater identify for non-Chinese language markets.
