BYD’s U9 Track Edition just rewrote the EV speed playbook, clocking an indicated 472.41 km/h on a closed circuit in Germany—nearly 300 mph. With professional driver Marc Basseng at the wheel on the ATP test track, the Yangwang-branded supercar surged into Bugatti Chiron territory, and did it with an 80 kWh LFP battery pack that’s a fraction of the cost of traditional hypercar hardware.
This Track Edition is far more than a tuned U9. It runs a first-of-its-kind, mass-produced 1,200-volt powertrain backed by enhanced thermal management and a quad-motor setup featuring BYD’s new 32,000 rpm electric motors. Each motor can peak at 555 kW, pushing combined output well over 3,000 hp. BYD also claims the U9 Track Edition has achieved the highest power-to-weight ratio of any car yet, at 1,217 PS per metric ton.
The numbers make the “regular” U9 look modest by comparison. That model rides on a 1 kV platform, lists around $235,000, and uses four 240 kW motors for a combined 1,288 hp. Even so, the Track Edition is expected to undercut ultra-exotics like the Nevera R by a massive margin—the latter reportedly costs about $2.7 million and has a top speed of 268.2 mph—while pushing the top-speed envelope dramatically further.
The record attempt wasn’t about headline speed alone. Sustaining multi-megawatt bursts takes serious engineering, and BYD’s 1,200-volt architecture is built for it. Fast recovery is part of the package too: the U9 supports up to 500 kW DC fast charging. While the run video didn’t reveal the battery state of charge after that near-300 mph sprint, such a charge rate should help replenish the pack quickly after high-speed sessions.
Beyond the stopwatch, the venue and timing matter. Setting the mark in Germany underscores how aggressively Chinese EV makers are targeting Europe. Xiaomi has already teased its own YU7 Ultra supercar on German plates, with European arrival aimed for 2027. With the Rimac Nevera’s recent acceleration feats and the long-anticipated Tesla Roadster 2 still looming, the performance EV chessboard is getting crowded—and faster.
Bottom line: the U9 Track Edition shows that world-beating speed no longer requires a stratospheric price tag or a gas-guzzling powertrain. If this run is any indication, a new era of relatively attainable, hyperfast electric cars is arriving far sooner than expected.
