Bye bye Bugatti! The Yangwang U9 Xtreme is the world’s fastest production car, smashing the 312mph barrier

Summary

BYD luxury brand Yangwang achieved a top speed of 312.65mph with its U9 Xtreme electric hypercar during a run on a closed highway in Abu Dhabi. The company plans a limited production run of 30 units, though the record attempt relied on a single-direction pass rather than the conventional two-way average.

Key Takeaways

1. Yangwang, the luxury, high-performance sister company of BYD, has claimed the production car speed record in Abu Dhabi, recording a top speed of 312.65mph on a single run.
2. The car that rose to the challenge is a hardcore version of the already very fast Yangwang U9, with the Xtreme model using a 1200V electrical architecture and four upgraded electric motors to produce 2,978bhp, compared to the 1,252bhp of the ‘standard’ model.
3. Yangwang says it will produce 30 of the U9 Xtreme models to be sold worldwide, although it hasn’t gone so far as to mention how much they will cost.

Statement Breakdown

• Claimed Facts: 75% of statements the article presents as facts
• Opinions: 20% of statements classified as editorial or subjective
• Claims: 5% of statements surfaced for additional reader evaluation

Credibility & Bias Reasoning

Credibility assessment: The report relies on official claims from automaker BYD and its subsidiary Yangwang, citing named executive Stella Li. Key vehicle specifications and speed measurements are reported directly from company announcements without independent verification from an external sanctioning body. The article transparently notes a major procedural caveat regarding single-direction timing.

Bias assessment: Enthusiast Tech Framing. The article adopts an excited automotive enthusiast tone celebrating electric vehicle performance gains over traditional supercar brands. It includes subjective praise, describing pricing as a bargain and engineering as impressive. However, it maintains reasonable balance by pointing out that the record run was single-direction rather than a verified two-way average.

Note: Relies on automaker performance figures and highlights that speed was measured in only one direction.

Credibility flag: Company Claims

Claimed Facts (2)

• Identifies the specific physical location and conditions of the record attempt.
• Reports the practical preparation step taken by the crew on site.

Opinions (2)

• Conveys a personal qualitative assessment regarding the engineering staff.
• Assesses the pricing of the vehicle relative to market value, which is a subjective judgment.

Claims (1)

• The text directly flags that the record attempt is contentious under standard verification criteria requiring a two-way average.

Key Sources

• Yangwang — Automotive brand and subsidiary of BYD
• Stella Li — Executive Vice President of BYD
• Leon Poultney — Author and automotive journalist at TechRadar