Yangwang
Yangwang doesn’t want to leave any doubts about the U9’s capabilities.
Here’s another record that can be added to the high-performance EV’s growing list of achievements. The Chinese marque just announced on Tuesday that the range-topping U9 Xtreme is the fastest production EV in Nürburgring Nordschleife history.
The luxury brand, which is owned by BYD, says the limited edition variant was able to circle the track known as the “Green Hell” in just 6:59.157 minutes earlier this month, easily besting the previous EV record of 7:04.957 minutes, which was set by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra in July of this year. Piloting the 2,959-horsepower EV—yes, you read that right—around the 12.949-mile course’s 154 turns was German race car driver Moritz Kranz, who has logged over 10,000 laps at the Nordschleife during his career.
“We are dedicated to pushing the limits of what can be achieved through technology, and the Nürburgring is such a legendary challenge for cars and drivers that it is only natural for our engineers to pursue their dreams there,” BYD executive vice president Stella Li said in a statement. “I congratulate the entire team on this phenomenal achievement.”
Yangwang has been building towards this moment. The company revealed that it has been testing out the U9 at the Nürburgring motorsports complex since July of last year We have a feeling that automaker won’t be satisfied just yet, though. The company’s over-the-top car may now own the Nürburgring’s production EV record, but not the unofficial overall battery-powered mark. A modified SU7 Ultra prototype lapped the course in just 6:22.091 this summer.
This is the third record the U9 Xtreme has set in as many months. Last month, Yangwang announced the car had beaten out the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport to become the world’s fastest car after reaching a top speed of 308.4 mph during Testing in Germany. One month prior, in August, the company revealed that U9 Xtreme had become the fastest production EV of all time after reaching a top speed of 293.5 mph, breaking a record that had been held by the Aspark Owl.
We can’t wait to see what next month has in store for the EV.
Click here for more photos of the Yangwang U9 Xtreme at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
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