YangWang U9: The world's fastest car is electric and Chinese.

YangWang U9 Xtreme is now the fastest car in the world. This electric sports car, which a few weeks ago broke the speed record for an electric car under the name YangWang U9 Track Edition, is now officially the fastest car in the world, after dethroning the Bugatti Chiron Supersport 300+, which until now held the honorary title of fastest production vehicle in history. It is worth remembering that YangWang is the luxury subsidiary of the BYD group in China, and that the brand plans to make the leap to Europe in the not too distant future.

The new speed record obtained by the YangWang U9 Xtreme was 496.22 km/h, which far surpasses the mark of 490.41 km/h set by the most radical version of the Bugatti Chiron a couple of years ago. With this move, the Chinese brand has made a real splash, since until now the speed records obtained by production supercars seemed to be a close competition between American and especially European manufacturers, and the YangWang U9 Xtreme has surprised everyone with the achievement of this new record, which, it should be noted.

The brand new YangWang U9 Xtreme is a vehicle powered by four electric motors (one on each wheel) of 755 HP (or 555 kW, if you prefer), which achieves a total combined power of 2,220 kW, the equivalent of 3,018 conventional HP, whose x-3 brand at a price yet to be determined.

A record with a great symbolic charge

The new speed record achieved by the YangWang U9 was achieved on a German circuit in the city of Papenburg, not far from Düsseldorf, alongside German driver Marc Basseng, who had driven Porsche, Lamborghini and Mercedes-Benz vehicles in various competitions, such as Le Mans and the DTM. However, no one can ignore that obtaining the speed record in the heart of Europe, with a European driver and a totally electric vehicle, is a declaration of war against the major traditional supercar manufacturers and a demonstration of the shift in hegemony in the automotive world.

In fact, driver Marc Basseng himself has pointed out that "no European manufacturer will be able to easily beat the YangWang U9 record," since "technically, such a record is beyond the reach of a car with a combustion engine." At this point, it's worth remembering that BYD is the world's leading manufacturer of electrified vehicles, with more than 13 million units manufactured annually through 2024, a figure it will surpass by 2025. The Chinese have demonstrated, once again, their technical capacity, and now we will have to pay close attention to see if the major European manufacturers of speed, a symbolic trophy that has already become a matter of reputation and status, can take advantage of this.