Yangwang U9 Xtreme Hits 312.65 MPH in FIA-Recognized Run
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme has crossed the 500-km/h barrier in an officially recognized single-direction speed run, reaching 503.17 km/h, or 312.65 mph, on a closed section of highway in Abu Dhabi.
The FIA announced its recognition on November 6, five days after German racing driver Marc Basseng recorded the speed on November 1. Guinness World Records separately lists the result as the highest speed achieved by both a production car and an electric production car in a single-direction run.
The wording matters. This is not a two-way average of runs in opposite directions, the method often used to reduce the effects of wind and road gradient in conventional production-car speed comparisons. It is a verified peak speed in one direction under a specifically named Guinness record category.
How the 503.17-km/h run was completed
The attempt used a closed 10-kilometer section of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road in Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra Region. According to the FIA and Yangwang parent BYD, the available course included a seven-kilometer straight.
Two runs on October 31 topped out at 490 km/h. The engineering team then changed the rear-wing angle, revised the suspension software’s rebound damping and adjusted tire pressures. Two more passes followed on November 1, with the second producing the 503.17-km/h result.
The figure is 6.95 km/h faster than the 496.22-km/h benchmark the same car established at Germany’s ATP Papenburg facility in September 2025. Before that, the U9 Xtreme had reached 472.41 km/h in August 2025.
Guinness says the measurement was independently verified using the car’s onboard speedometer and a calibrated VBOX system. An FIA representative reviewed the data and provided written confirmation for the record process.
Why this is a single-direction record
Guinness explicitly warns that the 503.17-km/h title should not be confused with production-car records based on different protocols, including opposite-direction runs. A two-way result averages speeds from runs in both directions, helping offset a favorable wind or road gradient.
That distinction does not erase the engineering significance of exceeding 500 km/h. It does define exactly what was proven: the highest verified peak speed in Guinness’s production-car and electric-production-car single-direction categories.
The FIA’s recognition also should not be read as a new outright land-speed record. Purpose-built land-speed vehicles occupy a separate class and have reached much higher speeds. The U9 Xtreme result concerns a limited-production road car.
More than 3,000 PS and a 1,200-volt system
BYD’s November 6 technical release says the U9 Xtreme uses four electric motors, one for each wheel, with combined output of 3,019 metric horsepower. The manufacturer also lists a 1,200-volt electrical architecture, torque vectoring and a lithium-iron-phosphate Blade Battery.
BYD says the battery can supply 1,800 kW even at a 20% state of charge, while peak energy recuperation exceeds 700 kW. It also claims the four motors can run at up to 30,000 rpm. Those engineering figures come from the manufacturer; Chiefs Review has not independently tested the car or its powertrain.
Giti Tire developed the specialized semi-slick tires used for the high-speed program. The car also uses Yangwang’s DiSus-X active body-control system, which independently manages vertical suspension movement at each corner.
The same U9 Xtreme specification has also recorded a 6-minute, 59.157-second lap on the Nürburgring Nordschleife, according to the FIA and BYD. That track result is separate from the Abu Dhabi speed attempt, but it helps explain why the project is being positioned as more than a straight-line prototype.
Production is limited to 30 cars
BYD says the U9 Xtreme will be limited to 30 units worldwide. Some customers have approved individual specifications and moved into contract signing and production scheduling, but the company has not published a price, delivery calendar or U.S. availability plan in the record announcement.
The model is a more extreme derivative of the Yangwang U9 rather than the regular U9 shown in the featured image. Chiefs Review’s related coverage includes BYD’s Racco rollout in Sri Lanka and Peugeot’s electric-performance concepts.
The latest result therefore combines three distinct facts: the car exceeded 500 km/h, the FIA recognized the measured speed, and Guinness created or applied two single-direction production-car titles. Describing it simply as the “fastest car” would ignore the test protocol and the much faster purpose-built machines in the broader land-speed record world.
Featured image: a regular Yangwang U9 show car photographed in the Philippines on October 10, 2026. It is an illustrative image and does not show the U9 Xtreme record car or the Abu Dhabi run. Photo by Ethan Llamas, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. The image is used without substantive alteration apart from routine website resizing.
