Hammad Aziz
Karachi: Just weeks after claiming the title of the world’s fastest car, the YANGWANG U9 Xtreme — BYD’s luxury performance flagship — has set another global milestone. The electric hypercar has smashed the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record for Electric Super Sports Cars, clocking an official time of 6 minutes 59.157 seconds, becoming the first EV in its class to go under seven minutes.
The record-breaking run took place on August 22, 2025, following over a year of development and track testing at the legendary 20.8km German circuit. The feat shaved more than five seconds off the previous best time in the EV supercar category.
BYD Executive Vice President Stella Li hailed the achievement, saying, “We are dedicated to pushing the limits of technology, and the Nürburgring represents the ultimate challenge. The U9 Xtreme has proven itself not just the fastest car in a straight line, but one with the agility and control to dominate the track.”
The record lap was driven by Moritz Kranz, a seasoned German GT racer with nearly 10,000 laps of the Nordschleife. He praised YANGWANG’s engineering precision, noting that the balance between extreme power and advanced chassis tuning made the record possible.
The U9 Xtreme is powered by four 30,000rpm motors on the world’s first mass-produced all-domain 1200V ultra-high-voltage platform, producing over 3,000PS and achieving a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217PS per tonne. Built on BYD’s e⁴ Platform and DiSus-X intelligent body-control system, the car combines exceptional acceleration with race-grade stability.
To master the Nürburgring’s demanding terrain, the car was equipped with a redesigned cooling system, titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic brakes, and GitiSport e·GTR² PRO semi-slick tires, co-developed with Giti.
The U9 Xtreme will be released in a limited production of 30 units, cementing its place among the rarest and most advanced hypercars ever built. Its name, derived from “Extreme,” embodies YANGWANG’s philosophy of pushing technological and performance boundaries.
