A 2.7 Million Yangwang U9 Xtreme Crashes into a Wall While Preparing to Assault 500 km/h
BYD will try to surpass the record this November on a long straight road in the United Arab Emirates, as commented this summer by Vice President Stella Li and confirmed by another senior executive.
BYD continues its ambition for its most extreme production car, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, to reach and exceed 500 km/h. However, in its most recent tests they encountered a serious setback, with a severe accident that wrecked a unit of the model costing nearly 2.7 million euros (20 million yuan at current exchange rates).
By 2025, the car had already drawn attention not only for its performance, but for its intentions: it had already reached a speed of 496.22 km/h on the Papenburg test track with professional driver Marc Basseng at the wheel. It also recorded a time of 6:59.157 at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in October 2025, surpassing the time of the production version of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra (7:04.957, although a prototype version was much faster, recording 6:22.091).
Yangwang U9 Xtreme Accident in China
At that time we were talking about a ‘production’ car, yes, although a short series: 30 units for the whole world at a price of nearly 2.7 million euros. It’s no surprise, as we’re talking about a beast with 2,977 hp (thanks to a system of four motors, one on each wheel) that, if it goes out of control, things can get ugly. And that’s exactly what happened during a test in China.
During a test on a long straight, the U9 Xtreme lost control and crashed into the wall (possibly due to a puncture, something on the asphalt, or a failure of the active suspension, but the first is the most common in these cases). The car bounced from the left side to the right and hit the wall again, spinning several times before coming to a stop.
Safety Tested During the Tests
In the impact, several aspects were observed: first, that the 80 kWh battery located at the bottom of the vehicle did not catch fire despite the force of the impact (though the angle of the impact helped, thus mitigating the force experienced). Whereas the crumple zones were destroyed, the cabin protected the test driver and he, although requiring assistance, emerged from the accident unscathed - in fact, he walked out on his own from the U9 Xtreme.
The rear axle was the first to detach from the rest of the car. An extra detail of the car is that, despite being a production model, it uses GitiSport e·Gtr2 Pro tires (i.e. semi-slick tires designed for vehicles of this type) with 20-inch wheels. It also features a special aerodynamic kit, notable for the size of the rear wing.
The Goal is to Record Its Mark in the United Arab Emirates
Obviously, this won’t stop BYD’s attempts. The goal, as announced last July by the group’s Vice President and head in Europe Stella Li, is to reach 500 km/h. This will happen this November and the chosen location will be in the United Arab Emirates (also confirmed by Yangwang’s general sales manager, Hu Xiaoqing), requiring a large space to achieve maximum speed… and then have a place to brake safely.
That’s why locations like Papenburg (with an oval of 12.3 km and 4 km straights on each side) or Nardo, in Italy (in this case with a length of 12.5 km) are usually used. In the UAE, they will look for a straight of 15 km in length where they will also have to consider other variables, such as the asphalt surface, wind, aerodynamic stability, or weather conditions.
* This news is an AI translation of the original content. Motenic.com is part of Motor.es.
Fuente: Car News China