Yangwang U9 Xtreme Becomes Fastest Car in the World, hits 308mph!

BYD’s luxury performance offshoot, Yangwang, has taken a definitive lead in the speed wars. Its U9 Xtreme hypercar recently reached 308.4 mph (496.22 km/h) at ATP Papenburg in Germany, driven by Marc Basseng. This run overtook the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ record of 304.77 mph from 2019.

The U9 Xtreme’s hardware pushes existing EV tech toward its limits. Its powertrain includes four electric motors producing just under 3,000 hp, riding on a 1,200-volt electrical architecture rather than the standard 800 volts found in many EVs.

The battery uses BYD’s Blade Lithium Iron Phosphate design; semi-slick tires and an upgraded active suspension system (“DiSus-X”) help with stability at extreme speed.

Only 30 units of the U9 Xtreme will be produced globally.

That limited run makes this more than a feat of engineering; it becomes a statement about where EV performance can go. BYD has been pushing toward higher voltages, better thermal management, torque vectoring, and improved aerodynamics. This record run shows that those incremental improvements are now combining to beat what was once thought almost untouchable.

There are caveats. That speed was reached in a one-way run, not the two-way average used in certain official land speed records.

There are also engineering trade-offs: tyres, battery cooling, and aerodynamic stability all become far more difficult at such high velocities. Still, placing this alongside combustion engine legends shows that EVs aren’t just catching up, they are surpassing old benchmarks where it matters most.

For the industry, this signals several things.

• First, high-voltage powertrains are no longer experimental; they are becoming necessary for pushing EV limits.
• Second, battery chemistry (LFP/Blade in this case) and packaging must evolve, since heat and discharge rates are harsh under top speed stress.
• Third, limited-production hypercars like U9 Xtreme serve dual purposes: technical proving grounds and brand halo vehicles that shift perception.

Competitors will now be forced to respond. Names like Koenigsegg, Rimac, Bugatti, and others are likely evaluating whether they can match or beat 308.4 mph while also addressing range, cost, and reliability. BYD has laid down a marker: extreme speed can go electric without compromises that were once considered unavoidable.