Good lord! The Yangwang U9 is now the fastest EV on earth after hitting 293.54mph

Here’s something that we might refer to in the future as ‘a moment’. BYD’s fancy sub-brand Yangwang has been working on a special Track Edition of its U9 electric supercar, and we have just learned that it recently hit a top speed of 293.54mph.

Yep, from now on we’ll probably have to refer to this thing as an electric hypercar, because it really is chuffing quick. In fact, it’s the fastest electric production car on earth. Take that, Rimac Nevera R (268mph) and Aspark Owl (272mph).

German driver Marc Basseng hit that bonkers top speed at the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg test track earlier this month, just a year after he did 233mph in the ‘standard’ U9.

“Last year, I thought I'd peaked. I never expected to break my own record so soon — but here we are, at the same track, with new technologies that have made it possible,” said Basseng. He didn’t just surpass that previous top end, he absolutely obliterated it. This new 293mph run will even put Bugatti and Koenigsegg on notice.  

So, to those new technologies that made it possible. The Track Edition is built on the same platform as the standard U9 that’s already on sale in China. However, where that car gets a total of 1,287bhp from four electric motors this really very fast version gets north of 2,958bhp. No, you’re not hallucinating. That really does say 2,958bhp.

And while European EV builders are only just getting to grips with 800V platforms, we’re told that the U9 Track Edition sits on “the world’s first mass produced 1200V ultra high voltage vehicle platform”. It also gets independent torque vectoring that monitors the road and adjusts power delivery at over 100 times per second.

Oh, and you may remember the ‘DiSus-X Intelligent Body Control System’ that allows it to dance and leapfrog into the air. That also works on track to keep the U9 as flat as possible through corners or under acceleration/braking.

The Track Edition also looks to have lost the standard car’s giant rear wing, while it has gained a new carbon fibre front splitter and bespoke semi-slick tyres from Giti.

Thoughts on the new fastest EV in the world?