The Yangwang U9 Xtreme has broken the lap record for electric super sports cars at the Nürburgring in Germany.
Yangwang‘s engineering team has been conducting long-term testing at the 20.832km Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit since July 2024 – and the extensive on-track data gleaned from this process has been fed into the development of the U9 Xtreme.
Yangwang’s U9X lapped the Nürburgring in 6 mins 59.157 seconds – slicing more than five seconds off the previous record time in the Electric Super Sports Cars class and becoming the first such vehicle to dip under the seven-minute barrier.
BYD executive vice president Stella Li said, “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.
“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.”
Driver Moritz Kranz commented, “The Nürburgring Nordschleife is the most demanding track, and our lap time is a testament to the development skills of BYD and Yangwang. 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.”
The U9 Xtreme is built on a 1200V ultra-high-voltage platform and equipped with four high-performance motors, each capable of 30,000rpm. The car delivers a total output of over 3,000ps, delivering a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217ps per metric ton.
To conquer the classic Nürburgring circuit – known for its steep elevation changes and demanding corners – the U9 Xtreme had a completely redesigned cooling system, a new titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system and GitiSport e·GTR² Pro semi-slick tires, co-developed with Giti.
In related news, Yasa breaks its own “unofficial world record” for power density