BYD Yangwang unveils 1,000+ hp

BYD used the Beijing auto show to put its Yangwang U9 Xtreme electric hypercar in front of the crowd and tie it to a broader pitch about faster charging and higher-end technology. (yangwangauto.com) (msn.com) The car on display was not an all-new Yangwang nameplate. It was the U9 Xtreme, a harder-core version of the Yangwang U9 that BYD first launched in February 2024 at 1.68 million yuan, or about $236,000 at the time. (byd.com) (carnewschina.com) BYD says the regular U9 makes about 1,300 horsepower, reaches 100 kilometers an hour in 2.36 seconds, and tops out at 309.19 kilometers an hour. It uses four electric motors, BYD’s e4 drive system, and the DiSus-X body-control suspension that can lift and manage each corner of the car independently. (byd.com) The U9 Xtreme is BYD’s record-chasing version. Yangwang’s official site says it targets both straight-line speed and track lap times, claims more than 3,000 Ps, runs on a 1,200-volt platform, and spins its four motors to 30,000 revolutions per minute. (yangwangauto.com 1) (yangwangauto.com 2) Yangwang says the U9 Xtreme reached a verified 496.22 kilometers an hour at ATP Papenburg in Germany on September 14, 2025. BYD separately said that run made it the fastest production car overall, ahead of the previous 490.484 km/h benchmark it cited for a gasoline rival. (byd.com) (yangwangauto.com) The company also says the U9 Xtreme posted a 6:59.157 lap at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, while a BYD news listing in March described it as the fastest electric hypercar at the circuit. (yangwangauto.com) (byd.com) That matters because BYD built its global business on lower-priced battery cars and plug-in hybrids, then moved upmarket with Denza, Fangchengbao, and Yangwang. The U9 and U9 Xtreme turn that strategy into a halo-car argument: BYD wants to sell battery tech, software control, and charging systems as much as sheet metal. (byd.com) (technode.com) (msn.com) Auto China 2026 gave BYD a stage built for that message. Reporting from the show described BYD demonstrating new flash-charging capability in public while its premium brands rolled out performance cars, luxury sport utility vehicles, and concept models across the same stand. (msn.com) (electriccarsreport.com) So the Beijing reveal was less a surprise launch than a statement of range. BYD showed that the same company selling high-volume family electric cars now wants a place in the world of 1,000-plus-horsepower supercars and 300-mph record attempts. (byd.com) (yangwangauto.com)