The BYD Yangwang U9 Xtreme is now the world’s fastest production car, hitting 496.22kph

What car comes to mind when you’re asked the question of “what is the world’s fastest car”? For many, it’s a Bugatti or a Koenigsegg, many of the ultra-exclusive hypercars that only the select few can buy.

But out of nowhere, specifically from the East, we see BYD and its luxury sub-brand Yangwang spat out the U9 Xtreme hypercar.

And to be more specific, this car shattered a handful of records, including the record of world’s fastest EV AND world’s fastest production car, as it managed to hit a crazy 496.22kph at the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg test track in Germany.

The Yangwang U9 is a very fast car on its own, capable of pushing out 1,287 horsepower and 1680Nm of torque from four electric motors, and is also known for some crazy feats such as its ability to dance, jump, and drive on three wheels thanks to its fancy DiSus-X suspension.

But here, the U9 Xtreme takes things to the, er, extreme by amping up its aerodynamics with larger splitters and wings, and it utilizes special semi-slick tires, and more importantly, an upgraded powertrain with 1200V ultra-high-voltage electronics (versus the standard’s 800V), a larger Blade battery with a higher discharge rate, uprated quad motors capable of operating at 30,000rpm and can produce more than 3,000 horsepower, plus a special DiSus-X suspension tuned specifically for circuit driving.

And if you want one of these, the U9 Xtreme is now available for customers, but only with a limited production run of 30 units. Would you want to buy one of these over the likes of a Bugatti or Koenigsegg?

^{Photos from BYD}