Top Gear Spotlight – Yangwang U9 on the World Stage

The YANGWANG U9 Xtreme has achieved global recognition after its record-breaking performance was named TopGear.com’s Moment of the Year 2026. The historic run took place in September at Germany’s ATP Papenburg test track, where the U9 Xtreme reached an astonishing 496.22 km/h, officially becoming the fastest production car in the world.

This achievement marks a major milestone for YANGWANG and the wider BYD Group, placing the brand at the very top of global performance engineering. The recognition from Top Gear confirms the scale of what was achieved and the impact it has made across the automotive world.

Stella Li, Executive Vice President of BYD, commented on the achievement, saying that the recognition reflects the advanced technology and engineering strength behind YANGWANG. She highlighted that the U9 Xtreme is a clear example of how BYD continues to push boundaries and showcase what modern performance engineering can deliver, driven by the work of over 120,000 research and development engineers.

The U9 Xtreme is a limited production hypercar developed from the existing U9 platform and pushed to extreme levels of performance. It features a revised 1,200V electrical architecture, four ultra high speed motors operating at up to 30,000 rpm, and a high-performance Blade Battery system. Together, this setup delivers over 3,000 horsepower and a world record power to weight ratio of 1,217 hp per ton.

For the record run, the vehicle was fitted with track focused semi slick tyres, and its advanced suspension system was specially tuned to manage the enormous stresses created at extreme speed. Behind the wheel was professional driver Marc Basseng, who also set multiple additional records with the same car during the development phase.

Beyond the top speed title, the U9 Xtreme also broke another record for electric vehicle performance, including a 472.41 km/h EV speed record and a 6 minute 59 second lap time at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, becoming the first electric super sports car to break the seven-minute barrier.

The YANGWANG U9 Xtreme will be produced in an ultra-limited run of no more than 30 units worldwide, making it one of the most exclusive performance models ever created.

This recognition marks a defining global moment for YANGWANG and further strengthens the position of the BYD Group on the world stage.