Image: BYD
BYD has officially launched its first electric supercar, the two-door U9 that will be marketed under its Yangwang luxury brand.
Specifications announced as part of the launch confirm that the U9 can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 2.36 seconds, making it the fastest-accelerating vehicle in the company’s line-up.
The sleek design and the powertrain can help it reach a top speed of 309 km/h. It is powered by a quad-motor powertrain, with each motor producing 240 kW, helping it reach a maximum power output of 960 kW and 1,680 Nm of torque.
Feeding this performance is an 80 kWh BYD blade battery pack which will deliver up to 450 km of CLTC range. This is likely to be closer to 370 km of the WLTP range.
The battery system is based on an 800-volt architecture with dual input fast-charging capability. This will help the U9 charge from 30-80% in just 10 minutes.
On pricing, the company has also confirmed that the starting price of the U9 will be over 1.098 million RMB or $A232,670.
Equipped with the U9 is also a BYD-developed body control system that can make the car “dance” by being able to control the height of each wheel.
The exterior of the sleek two-door supercar includes upward-opening scissor-style doors and the inside of the car features a screen behind the driver and a vertical screen in the centre. There also appears to be a rotary dial in the centre as well as a wireless charging pad.
Last year in October, Zeekr, another premium Chinese brand which is owned by same parent company as Polestar, announced the Zeekr FR. The company at that time said owners can expect to get the Zeekr 001 FR from 0-100 km/h in 2.07 seconds which the brand claims is the “fastest-accelerating mass-produced all-electric vehicle”.
Powering the Zeekr FR, like the U9, is a quad-motor powertrain. For the FR, the powertrain setup produces 930 kW compared to the U9’s 960 kW.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.
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