BYD’s new supercar can jump (but not in the way you might expect)

In case you weren’t aware, the excellently named Yangwang U9 is an all-electric supercar from parent company BYD (yes, the folks behind the Atto 3 crossover that we drove in the UK recently) that’s set to be launched in China at some point soon.

Frustratingly, we don’t really know any more than that about it at this stage. Well, except that it can literally bunny hop into the air while standing still.

Yes, you did read that correctly. The U9 readies itself by shrinking down before bouncing up and launching all four of its wheels off the ground at the same time. Don’t believe us? Get a look at the video in this tweet. The jump happens very near the end – after all the strange lowrider-esque hydraulic action.

Interestingly, BYD hasn’t really explained why the U9 needs to jump into the air like a cat that’s been startled by a cucumber (if you haven’t seen those videos, get to your chosen search engine immediately), but we’re told that the fancy event at the company’s HQ in Shenzhen was to show off its new DiSus-X ‘body control system’. 

“The BYD DiSus system is the first self-developed intelligent body control system launched by a Chinese automobile company, marking the breakthrough from zero to one,” said Wang Chuanfu, Chairman and President of BYD. “The BYD DiSus System will further secure the globally pioneering stance for BYD in the industry.”

Still not actually that much detail there, is there? However, we do know that there will be three branches of the DiSus system. DiSus-C is the ‘Intelligent Damping Body Control System’, DiSus-A is the ‘Intelligent Air Body Control System’ and DiSus-P is the ‘Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System’. Right. 

We’re told that the U9’s DiSus-X system is a bit of a halo product though, and that it also allows the electric supercar to drive with a wheel missing. Lucky, because we do that sort of thing all the time…

Anyway, Yangwang and BYD say that the DiSus system is ‘the most advanced vehicle body control system of the industry globally’. Until we drive the U9, we guess we’ll just have to take their word for it.