BYD’s luxury Yangwang brand has officially secured its place on the Nürburgring Nordschleife production car leaderboard after recording a lap time of 6 minutes 59.157 seconds, making the U9 Xtreme the fastest electric vehicle to conquer the notorious German circuit.
The certification, announced by Yangwang, marks the first time a production EV has broken the seven-minute barrier at the 20.8-kilometre track and represents a five-second improvement over the previous record held by the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra.
The achievement also establishes the U9 Xtreme as the first Chinese production supercar to be officially recorded on the Nürburgring leaderboard.
German endurance racer Moritz Kranz, who boasts nearly 10,000 laps of Nürburgring experience during his GT career, piloted the electric hypercar during the record attempt on Aug 22.
The official listing followed a private track session on Oct 10, where challenging weather conditions limited high-speed lap opportunities. Yangwang executive Hu Xiaoqing revealed the drivers had not been in the U9 Xtreme since Sept 18, making it their first track session in 22 days.
The U9 Xtreme features extensive track-focused modifications, including a newly developed titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system and redesigned cooling architecture.
Semi-slick tyres developed with Giti provide enhanced grip, whilst the quad-motor electric powertrain delivers approximately 2,959 brake horsepower through BYD’s 1,200-volt platform — the world’s first such system in a production vehicle. Each motor spins up to 30,000 revolutions per minute.
The Nürburgring achievement arrives just one month after the U9 Xtreme set a top speed record of 496.22kph at Germany’s ATP Papenburg facility, surpassing the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ prototype’s previous mark.
The hypercar has been undergoing intensive testing at the Nordschleife since July 2024, with engineers gathering data on traction, cornering dynamics and thermal management throughout the development process.
Production would be strictly limited to 30 units globally, with each example representing what BYD vice president Stella Li described as proof that the U9 Xtreme possesses “not only the world’s fastest car in a straight line, but also a vehicle with the performance and dynamic qualities necessary to break lap records”.
Yangwang confirmed development and testing would continue to further refine track performance.
