BYD’s Yangwang U9 Smashes Nürburgring Record for Fastest Production EV
Another day, yet another record. This time, it’s BYD—well, technically, Yangwang, the brand’s luxury division. The car in question is the uber-quick U9 Xtreme, which, although not official, already made headlines as the fastest EV on the planet, clocking 308 mph and snatching the top-speed title from Rimac’s Nevera R.
All this is made possible by the hypercar’s four electric motors, producing a staggering 3,000 horsepower backed by a whole lot of engineering wizardry.
In a statement by BYD, the company announced, “The Yangwang U9X has now conquered the Nürburgring Nordschleife in record time, completing the lap in 6:59.157, making it the fastest EV production vehicle around the track.” The lap, driven by German racer Moritz Kranz, was made official via a Nürburgring press release, followed by a YouTube upload.
This sub-7-minute milestone is five seconds faster than the previous holder, Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra. While that’s impressive, there’s a certain American muscle car that might have something to say about it.
Quick, But Not GTD-Quick
No matter how good EVs become, engineers keep proving time and again that there’s still a place for good ol’ combustion in high-performance cars. The Ford Mustang GTD clocked the Ring seven seconds faster than China’s fastest EV, but it achieved this lap time despite a massive horsepower disadvantage—815 hp versus 3,000 hp, to be specific. That said, the Mustang itself is circa three seconds slower than the GT3 RS, an established track weapon that’s roughly 300 horsepower down on the GTD.
Ford
With a lap time of 6:29.09, the Mercedes-AMG One holds the current production car lap record at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Yes, the GTD is 23 seconds slower than the multi-million-dollar hypercar, but remember: Blue Oval took an honest Mustang off the production line and gave it the whole nine yards.
Any attempt under the 7-minute mark, whether ICE or EV, is seriously commendable. Full points to BYD for upping the game, and to all the brilliant minds who refuse to let combustion fade quietly into history.
