A 1,200 V four-motor electric hypercar with more than 3,000 PS. It recorded 496.22 km/h at ATP Papenburg and a 6:59.157 Nordschleife lap.
Background
Yangwang is BYD's luxury sub-brand. The standard U9 is a quad-motor electric supercar sold in China. The U9 Xtreme is a track-focused version limited to 30 units worldwide.
Platform and motors
The Xtreme runs on what BYD calls the world's first series-production 1,200 V platform. It has four motors, each rated at 555 kW peak and up to 30,000 rpm, for a combined 2,220 kW (more than 3,000 PS). BYD quotes a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217 PS per tonne. The cooling system was completely redesigned to handle the higher power.
Records
At ATP Papenburg in Germany in September 2025 the U9 Xtreme reached 496.22 km/h, beating the 472.41 km/h set by the U9 Track Edition the month before. On 22 August 2025 it lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:59.157, which BYD says was the first sub-seven-minute lap for an electric super sports car. CarExpert notes the top speed has not been independently verified.
Hardware
Supporting hardware includes DiSus-X intelligent body control, titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic brakes and GitiSport e·GTR² PRO semi-slick tyres developed with Giti.
Market
The production car was shown at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026. Electrek reports it sold for more than 20 million yuan (nearly US$3 million). Only 30 will be built, with no more than one per export market, according to CarExpert.
BYD at the top end
BYD is one of the world's largest makers of electric vehicles and batteries. Yangwang is its luxury brand, built to show off BYD's most advanced technology. The standard U9 can "dance", jump and drive on three wheels thanks to the DiSus-X body control system, Electrek reports.
Why 1,200 V matters
Higher voltage means less current for the same power, which reduces heat and allows lighter wiring and faster charging. BYD says the U9 Xtreme is the first series-production car with a full 1,200 V platform.
Track development
BYD says its engineers tested at the Nordschleife from July 2024 and fed that data into the Xtreme. Thermal efficiency of the drive system rose 40%, through a high-flow oil pump and a new three-dimensional motor cooling design.
Speed in context
The 496.22 km/h run beat the 490.485 km/h set by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ in 2019, according to CarExpert. With only 30 cars built, Electrek questions whether it should count as a production car.
The verdict
The 1,200 V platform, a record top speed and a sub-seven-minute Nordschleife lap make the U9 Xtreme our 2026 Exotic Electric winner. We chose it ahead of a second award for Rimac.
The rivals
The Xtreme's closest rival is the Rimac Nevera R, our 2025 Exotic Electric winner, which set its own records in 2025. At top speed, its comparisons are combustion hypercars from Bugatti and Koenigsegg.
Caveats
The top-speed run was carried out by the manufacturer and has not been independently verified, according to CarExpert. Production is tiny and pricing is reported, not officially published.
Our judging notes
The panel weighed the technical milestone of a 1,200 V production platform, record performance and the car's public debut in production form in 2026.
Reading the numbers
Four 555 kW motors spinning up to 30,000 rpm explain the more-than-3,000 PS total. The 472.41 km/h set by the U9 Track Edition in August 2025 was beaten a month later by the Xtreme's 496.22 km/h, showing how fast BYD has developed the platform.
Platform
The U9 Xtreme uses BYD's 1,200 V e⁴ platform, which supports very high power from the motors and battery. The Xtreme is aimed at buyers who want a road-legal electric hypercar with a record behind it, and it brings Chinese engineering into a market long led by European makers.
Chassis
A DiSus-X intelligent body control system manages the suspension and helps the car stay stable at very high speed.
Verdict
A top speed of 496.22 km/h makes the U9 Xtreme the fastest production electric car on record at the time of writing, and that record is why it won Exotic Electric for 2026.
Specification breakdown
- Platform: 1,200 V ultra-high-voltage, e⁴ quad-motor.
- Motors: Four, each 555 kW peak and up to 30,000 rpm.
- Power: 2,220 kW (over 3,000 PS / 2,977 hp).
- Power-to-weight: 1,217 PS per tonne (BYD).
- Top speed: 496.22 km/h, ATP Papenburg, Sept 2025.
- Nordschleife: 6:59.157 (22 Aug 2025).
- Chassis: DiSus-X intelligent body control.
- Brakes: Titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic.
- Tyres: GitiSport e·GTR² PRO semi-slicks.
- Production: 30 units worldwide.
Why it won
The U9 Xtreme runs on what BYD calls the first series-production 1,200 V platform. In 2025 it recorded a 496.22 km/h top speed and became the first electric super sports car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife in under seven minutes. Only 30 will be built, with production cars shown at Auto China in April 2026.
Watch
Video: BYD YangWang U9 Xtreme top-speed run, 496.22 km/h (Gear Musk)