Yangwang’s latest hypercar has set a new top speed record for any production car, surpassing previous records set by petrol and hybrid vehicles.
The U9 Xtreme, a high-performance upgrade of the brand’s electric hypercar, hit a verified top speed of 308.4 mph at the ATP Papenburg test track in Germany.
German GT driver Marc Basseng was behind the wheel for the record-setting run, which broke Bugatti’s long-standing 304.8 mph record set in 2019 with the Chiron Super Sport 300+.
The fastest production car ever
Built by BYD’s luxury sub-brand, the U9 Xtreme pushes just under 3,000 horsepower using a four-motor electric powertrain. While the original U9 is already sold in China, this Xtreme model was developed specifically for speed-focused performance and underwent official testing in controlled conditions.
Yangwang confirmed the vehicle used was a production-spec unit. Only 30 will be made worldwide, adding exclusivity to what is now the fastest road-legal EV on record.
The run was captured on video and certified at the test facility, placing the U9 Xtreme at the top of the production car leaderboard.
If history teaches anything, of course, it’s that records are made to be broken. Bugatti’s successor to the Chiron, the Bugatti Tourbillon, is due to arrive in 2026, boasting a total horsepower of 1,800. That’s still a far cry from the U9 Xtreme’s 3,000, however, so it could be some time before any production-scale car comes close to beating it.