BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a four-motor electric hypercar rated at nearly 3,000 horsepower, hit a guardrail and spun out of control on the third of four high-speed runs, and its driver climbed out unharmed. Video released November 2 shows the crash, which came as the car chased a speed of about 280 mph. BYD then sent the same car out for a fourth run at 284.5 mph.
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The wreck is a rare public failure in a record campaign that BYD has run in the open. The car already holds the production-car speed record, and the company says it plans another attempt this month at 500 km/h, or about 310 mph. What the crash does to that schedule has not been stated.
Three runs, one guardrail and a fourth at 457.89 km/h
Electrek’s report on the video lays out the sequence BYD showed. The first run passed 350 km/h, or 217 mph, without trouble, and the second passed 420 km/h, or 261 mph. On the third, BYD was attempting more than 450 km/h, about 280 mph, when the car struck the guardrail and kept spinning. The carbon-fiber cabin reportedly held up despite front and rear damage. A fourth run followed and reached 457.89 km/h, or 284.5 mph. Electrek does not say which car made that run.
Details differ between accounts. Electrek says the third run was a 450 km/h attempt, while CarNewsChina says the crash possibly happened during an attempt at about 500 km/h and does not confirm it. Motor1, citing CarNewsChina, writes that BYD has not said how fast the car was going or what caused the loss of control. No source names the track beyond describing a closed course in China, and Electrek does not give the date of the crash. The 280 mph figure is therefore a target speed, not a confirmed impact speed.
Nearly 3,000 hp from four motors at 30,000 rpm
Electrek says the U9 Xtreme makes nearly 3,000 hp, listed as 3,000 PS, from four electric motors, and calls BYD’s setup the first quad-motor layout rated at 30,000 rpm. The car runs a 1,200-volt platform that BYD describes as the first mass-produced one at that voltage. CarNewsChina gives the combined peak as 2,220 kW, or 2,977 hp, with an 80 kWh battery, 20-inch wheels on semi-slick tires and a large rear wing.
The record it now holds came in September 2025. Electrive reported that on September 14 the U9 Xtreme reached 496.22 km/h, or 308.4 mph, at the ATP test site in Papenburg, Germany, beating the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+. German racing driver Marc Basseng drove it. BYD vice president Stella Li called it great that the fastest production car is now electric, and Basseng said electric drive lets him focus on the track because the car is quiet and has no load changes.
The spread between the two power figures is a units issue. A PS rating is metric horsepower, and a kilowatt rating converts to horsepower at a slightly different ratio, so the same machine appears as 3,000 PS in one report and 2,977 hp in another. Both describe the same four-motor hypercar, and both sit just below a round 3,000 that BYD’s marketing leans on.
That car weighs roughly 2.5 tonnes, seats two, and is planned for only 30 units at 1.68 million yuan, about 200,000 euros, according to the same report. It topped the 472.41 km/h set by the U9 Track Edition on August 8, 2025.
The driver, BYD’s message and the 500 km/h plan
On the driver, the two reports agree. Electrek says BYD reported that a comprehensive medical exam found the driver in good health with no serious injuries. Motor1’s account says he climbed out unassisted and walked away, that the impact reportedly tore the rear axle assembly off, and that there were no immediate reports of a battery fire. The driver has not been named in the reports reviewed.
BYD ended the video with a line translated as “The ultimate pursuit has no end; the summit will eventually be reached.” Electrek adds that Jiang Gong, one of Yangwang’s riders, said he saw some leeway and believed the car could break 500 km/h. CarNewsChina says BYD vice president Stella Li first disclosed a planned 500 km/h attempt in the United Arab Emirates in November, and that Yangwang sales general manager Hu Xiaoqing confirmed it. BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme page carries only the model name and no performance data.
The arithmetic frames what remains. The fourth run’s 457.89 km/h sits 38.33 km/h below the 496.22 km/h record, and a 500 km/h run would need to beat that record by only 3.78 km/h, a margin that looks small beside the sequence of three runs that ended at a guardrail. Whether the damaged car or a sibling makes the November attempt is unresolved, and BYD has published no statement on the cause of the crash.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Morning Overview editors prior to publication.
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