
(Image credit: BYD )
The Chinese electrical car brand name BYD has actually developed the world’s fastest completely electrical supercar– smashing previous records by striking leading speeds of 293.54 miles per hour(472.41 km/h).
This record was set on the ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg test track in northern Germany on Aug. 8 by BYD’s YANGWANG U9 Track Edition
With 2,960 horse power and a power-to-weight ratio of 1,341.5 horse power per load(1,217 horse power per tonne ), the YANGWANG U9 Track Edition raced past the previous EV speed record of 268.2 miles per hour (431.62 km/h), set by the Rimac Nevera R in July.
YANGWANG U9 Breaks Global EV Top Speed Record- YouTube
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This vehicle is the more youthful brother or sister to BYD’s very first completely electrical supercar, the YANGWANG U9, which has 1,300 horse power and was introduced last summer season. The Track Edition still bears a household similarity to the basic U9 design, sharing the exact same aerodynamic style.
It is likewise built on the very same power system, which has 4 independent electrical motors and four-wheel torque control, along with a body control system, which keeps the cars and truck as flat as possible when accelerating, decreasing or going round corners.
The lithium iron phosphate “Blade Battery” stays the exact same, with its flat rectangle-shaped shape enabling effective cooling and increased energy density, BYD agents stated on the business’s siteThis battery can be charged from 30% to 80% in simply half an hour
Related: ‘Springy’ solid-state battery is two times the width of a leukocyte and might considerably increase EV variety
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To surpass the speed record of 233 miles per hour (275 km/h) the U9 set in August 2024BYD engineers integrated in a temperature level control system for the battery and motor that is customized to severe conditions. They likewise included “the world’s first mass-produced 1200V ultra-high-voltage vehicle platform”BYD agents stated in a declaration
This suggests that, usually, the battery, motor, power supply, cooling and other elements are raised to 1200 volts.
“Last year, I thought I’d peaked. I never expected to break my own record so soon” Marc Basseng, the German expert racing chauffeur who set the record, stated in the declaration “But here we are, at the same track, with new technologies that have made it possible.”
This brand-new record locations EV supercars within touching range of their gas equivalents. Presently, the fastest roadway legal cars and trucks are the Koenigsegg Jesko Absolutwhich is approximated to reach a leading speed of 310 miles per hour (500 km/h)– though this hasn’t been shown in the real life yet– and the SSC Tuatara, which has actually reached a speed of 295mph (475 km/h).
Sophie is a U.K.-based personnel author at Live Science. She covers a large range of subjects, having actually formerly reported on research study covering from bonobo interaction to the very first water in deep space. Her work has actually likewise appeared in outlets consisting of New Scientist, The Observer and BBC Wildlife, and she was shortlisted for the Association of British Science Writers’ 2025 “Newcomer of the Year” award for her freelance work at New Scientist. Before ending up being a science reporter, she finished a doctorate in evolutionary sociology from the University of Oxford, where she invested 4 years taking a look at why some chimps are much better at utilizing tools than others.
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