YangWang U9 Xtreme smashes through speed barrier

The YangWang U9 Xtreme has become the first production car to officially exceed 500km/h, clocking 503.17km/h on a closed public road in Abu Dhabi and breaking its own 496.22km/h benchmark set in Germany last year.

Unlike that previous run, which was never independently adjudicated, the new single-direction record has been recognised by Guinness World Records, with the 3019PS electric hypercar claiming records for both the fastest production car and fastest electric production car over a single-direction run.

The record was set on November 1 on a 10km closed section of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra Region, with German racing driver Marc Basseng once again behind the wheel.

Basseng drove the U9X to 496.22km/h at Germany's Papenburg proving ground in September 2025, but that effort remained unofficial because it was a single-direction run and had no independent adjudication from Guinness World Records or the FIA.

This time, Guinness has created a distinction for the highest speed achieved by a production car in a single-direction run, allowing the U9X to claim an official title without averaging passes in opposing directions.

Getting beyond the elusive 500km/h barrier still wasn't straightforward.

Two runs on October 31 produced a best of 490km/h before YangWang engineers worked overnight to modify the car's set-up.

Changes included increasing the rear wing angle for greater rear-axle downforce, altering the suspension software to increase rebound damping and tweaking tyre pressures. Engineers also optimised battery and e-motor temperatures before the following day's runs.

The changes worked. After a first pass on November 1 confirmed improvements, Basseng reached 503.17km/h on his second attempt.

“This time, we took on an entirely different challenge, pushing the limits of speed on a public road in Abu Dhabi,” said Basseng.

“At these extreme speeds every detail matters, and none of this would have been possible without the incredible YangWang engineering team.”

There have been no major changes to the U9X powertrain since its previous record. Four e-motors capable of spinning at up to 30,000rpm generate up to 555kW apiece, for a combined output exceeding 2221kW.

As reported by carsales last year, the U9X also employs a 1200-volt electrical architecture instead of the standard U9's 800V system. 

YangWang says the BYD Blade Battery can sustain up to 1800kW of output with a 20 per cent state of charge, while peak energy recuperation exceeds 700kW.

The same specification U9X also holds the production electric vehicle lap record at the Nurburgring Nordschleife, having posted a 6:59.157 lap.

Only 30 YangWang U9 Xtreme hypercars will be built, and the car-maker says some customers have now finalised their individual specifications and are progressing to contract signing and production scheduling.

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