BYD Yangwang U9: Hypercar with 960 kW and 500 kW Charging Power

Following the ships to Europe, BYD is also launching a new top model that initially targets Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghini, and the like, at least in its home market. The U9 is 4.97 meters long, 2.03 meters wide, and 1.29 meters high – and has a long wheelbase of 2.90 meters. Performance data is also available now: the top speed is said to be 309 km/h and it can sprint from a standstill to 100 km/h in 2.36 seconds.

More impressive than the driving performance is the charging performance: 500 kW

The Blade battery can be charged with up to 500 kW. According to Chinese media, two charging cables can be used simultaneously (which would mean 250 kW each), so the boost from 30 (not 10) to 80 percent should work in ten minutes. The high charging performance is also interesting because the battery is said to have a capacity of only 80 kWh, which should be enough for 450 kilometers of range in the Chinese CLTC cycle. Realistically, with power utilization, it's more likely to be 250 to 300 kilometers because the CLTC is very lenient.

Disus-X: The automatic suspension control

But BYD is also technically upgrading: the Disus-X control system can actively control all four suspensions independently over a travel range of 75 millimeters. The U9 should theoretically be able to jump or drive on just three wheels – or be optimally adjusted for each curve on the racetrack. There have already been test drives for this: on the Formula 1 track in Shanghai, the U9 is said to have taken a few seconds off the BMW M5 or Porsche Panamera Turbo, although it competed against sedans and not hypercars.

In China, the Yangwang U9 costs 1.68 million Yuan (equivalent to around 216,000 Euros) and is scheduled to be delivered from summer 2024. Interested parties can register with a deposit of 300,000 Yuan (about 38,460 Euros).