Yangwang U9 Xtreme hits 503.17 km/h one way, leaving SSC's two-way record intact

BYD (HKG: 1211) said on November 6, 2026 that its Yangwang U9 Xtreme had reached 503.17 km/h (313 mph) on a closed section of public highway in Abu Dhabi, making it the first production car to pass 500 km/h. The run took place on November 1, and the result has been recognised by the FIA and Guinness World Records.

The number is a peak speed in one direction, and that distinction matters. Guinness World Records logged it as the highest speed by a production car and by an electric production car in a single-direction run, and noted that conventional fastest-production-car records require runs in opposite directions. Yangwang did not attempt a two-way average, so the SSC Tuatara's two-way mark of 282.9 mph (455 km/h), set in 2021, still stands.

On a one-way basis, the U9 Xtreme now sits 12.69 km/h (8 mph) clear of Bugatti. A pre-production Chiron derivative driven by Andy Wallace reached 490.484 km/h (305 mph) at Ehra-Lessien in Germany on August 2, 2019, in a run certified by TÜV. The new figure also tops the U9 Xtreme's own 496.22 km/h (308 mph), set at the ATP Papenburg proving ground in September 2025, by 6.95 km/h.

The attempt used Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra Region, with German racing driver Marc Basseng, who also drove the 2025 record run, at the wheel. Hu Xiaoqing, general manager of Yangwang's sales division, announced the open-road challenge on November 1. Authorities closed a 10 km (6 mile) stretch of what the Abu Dhabi Media Office calls one of the UAE's principal transport arteries, including a 7 km (4 mile) straight. Two runs on October 31 peaked at 490 km/h (304 mph), after which engineers adjusted the aerodynamics, suspension settings and tyre pressures; the second of two runs on November 1 produced the final figure.

The record car on the closed E11 in Al Dhafra, where the second run on November 1 reached 503.17 km/h (Abu Dhabi Media Office)

Guinness said the speed was verified with the onboard speedometer and a calibrated VBOX system, with an FIA representative reviewing the data. Yangwang has also released a single-take VBOX video of the run, with the 503.17 km/h reading appearing at about 1:59. BYD said that moving from the closed German test track used in 2025 to a public road raised the demands on every detail at the limit. The team spent months searching for a suitable stretch, which also meant dealing with local heat, crosswinds and sand.

The car is built around four motors that spin to 30,000 rpm, each with a peak output of 555 kW (744 hp). Combined output exceeds 3,000 PS, and BYD quotes a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217 PS per tonne. The motors run on a 1,200-volt electrical platform fed by a track-grade Blade battery rated for 30C discharge, though output drops to 2,400 bhp at 20% charge.

That is more than double the standard U9, which went on sale in China in February 2024 with four 240 kW motors and now starts at 1.8 million CNY (c. $268,000). To survive 30,000 rpm, the Xtreme's motors use 970 MPa rotors, high-speed bearings and high-strength aviation-grade aluminium housings. The body combines a 3D-printed integrated structure with a carbon passenger cell.

Chassis hardware includes the DiSus-X fully active body control system, titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic brakes and semi-slick tyres from Giti. The tyre is the GitiSport e GTR 2 PRO, certified for 500 km/h, and its new semi-slick compound raises the friction coefficient by more than 38%. The record car ran without the swan-neck rear wing fitted for the U9 Xtreme's 6 minute 59.157 second lap of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, a lap record for production EVs. The Abu Dhabi runs also brought Giti two Guinness titles of its own for tyre speed.

The speed has climbed in steps. The original U9 reached 309 km/h (192 mph) in China in January 2024 and 391.94 km/h (244 mph) at ATP Papenburg in October 2024. The U9 Xtreme then hit 472.41 km/h (294 mph) in August 2025 and 496.22 km/h a month later. After that run, the team concluded that the thermal management, motors and tyres still had headroom. BYD said its in-house engineers on the project have an average age under 30 and have tested the U9 and U9 Xtreme since 2024.

The campaign was not clean. During a domestic shakedown before Abu Dhabi, test driver Jiang Wen, who has been with BYD for 23 years, was running in the 420 to 450 km/h (261 to 280 mph) band when the car began to slide. At about 360 km/h (224 mph) it struck the left guardrail, then crossed the road into the right barrier. The car was badly damaged, but a hospital check found the driver unhurt.

The U9 Xtreme is limited to 30 units worldwide. Its production version went on sale at the Beijing Auto Show in April 2026 at more than 20 million CNY (c. $2.98 million) per unit, the most expensive car sold at that show. Reportedly 28 of the 30 cars are going overseas and two are staying in China, and the run is sold out.

The UAE also features in Yangwang's next launch. The brand has said it will unveil its executive sedan codenamed HU in the UAE, without giving a date or venue. Whether it also returns to the E11 for a two-way run, the one speed title this campaign left with SSC, is the next question.

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