Yangwang U9X breaks own record as world’s fastest car
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Ultra-rare Yangwang U9X extends its lead as the fastest production car with 312mph Abu Dhabi run
GE
George East
6 November 2026, 14:27 GMT · 2 min read
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Yangwang has broken its own record as the world’s fastest production car, after setting a speed of 312.65mph with its all-electric 2,959bhp U9 Xtreme.
The record-breaking run took place on a stretch of the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road in Abu Dhabi with former 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Marc Basseng, at the wheel of the BYD-owned brand’s hypercar.
Last year, Basseng set the U9X’s initial record as the world’s fastest production car record with a 308.4mph run at the Automotive Testing Papenburg (ATP) high-speed oval test track facility in Germany.
To achieve the record, the six-mile leg of public desert road in Abu Dhabi was swept to ensure no fluids, debris, or sand interfered with the run.
Similarly, Yangwang left the U9X’s setup largely unaltered bar a few changes. These included adjusting the software for the adaptive dampers. This boosted rebound damping as a way of helping Basseng and the car cope with the undulations in road surface. The rear wing was also heightened to increase downforce.
The Yangwang U9X’s power comes from four electric motors, producing around 738bhp apiece to operate at a peak of 30,000rpm. The 0-62mph run is dealt with in a mere 2.36 seconds, and the car is underpinned by a 1,200V platform – a first for any EV. However, the battery is a Blade unit sourced from BYD.
Yangwang has limited the U9X’s production run to just 30 units, and there is no word of whether the model in any guise will make its way to the UK in the future. A more tame U9 with an 800V platform and ‘just’ 2,978bhp is sold in China from around £175,000, or 1.5 million Chinese yuan.
BYD founded Yangwang as its flagship luxury brand to sit above Denza in its portfolio. Beyond the U9, it also produces the U8 plug-in hybrid SUV and the U7 saloon. On Sunday, 8 November, Yangwang will launch the Altior, its all-electric answer to the likes of the Rolls-Royce Ghost.