Getty Image / Costfoto/NurPhoto/iStockphoto/ssuaphoto
the BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition, a Chinese supercar, with a racetrack background
The BYD Yangwang U9 holds the world record for the top speed from an electric vehicle after reaching 293.5 miles per hour. That destroyed the previous EV top speed world record by over 25 MPH when the test was conducted last year and BYD had hopes of pushing the record even further until a devastating crash this week.
Footage out of China shows the Chinese supercar, the BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition, left looking like a jumbled heap of scrap metal after it crashed during the speed test in China.
$3 Million Chinese Supercar BYD Yangwang U9 Crashes During Speed Test
The YouTube channel CarNewsChina shared this clip below of the crash and the aftermath. It is unclear how fast the BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition was traveling at the time. What is clear, however, is the electric supercar worth $3 million US dollars suffered irreparable damage from the crash.
The clip begins just as the BYD Yangwang U9 smashes into the left barrier (our right) of the road, it then spins out as it crosses the road and smashes into the barrier on the opposite side of the roadway. That is when parts of the car begin flying in every direction as the $3M supercar disintegrates before our very eyes. There is brief footage from inside the cockpit as the driver braces for impact followed by footage of the driver receiving medical attention after the crash. Here’s the clip that has been going viral since the crash:
According to a report from Jeff Perez at Motor1, the crash is said to have occurred on November 2nd ahead of the BYD Yangwang U9 attempting to reach 311 miles per hour. The crash resulted in the rear axle being ripped from the car entirely.
Top Speed EV Record
The BYD Yangwang U9 Track Edition really burst onto the scene last year when this footage below was released from the world record run. It immediately established itself as one of the fastest supercars ever assembled.
In a press release after that record was set above, BYD announced “breaking world records demands both relentless power delivery and exceptional high-speed stability. The Yangwang U9 Track Edition’s e4 Platform — the world’s first quad-motor system to feature 30,000 rpm high-performance motors — delivers peak power of 555 kW per motor, with a combined system output exceeding 3,000 PS. This grants the vehicle an astonishing power-to-weight ratio of 1,217 PS per tonne, placing it among the top tier in the global automotive industry.”
Presumably, as they tout the car as “the world’s first mass-produced 1200V ultra-high-voltage vehicle platform” there will be plans in place to rebuild to the test specifications that were being used in the attempt to beat the all-time speed record. But this is certainly a setback in the pursuit of setting the top speed record for all production vehicles, a record held by the Bugatti Chiron Super Sport 300+ that went 304.8 mph in 2019.