BYD (HKG: 1211) chairman Wang Chuanfu personally handed the keys to a Yangwang U9 Xtreme at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show on April 24, marking the first customer delivery of the world's fastest production car.

Yangwang U9 Xtreme delivery from Wang Chuanfu to Nick Politis (BYD)

The buyer was Nick Politis AM, Greek-Australian billionaire and chairman of the Sydney Roosters NRL club, who secured the only unit destined for Australia. The transaction exceeded 20,000,000 CNY (c. $2,920,000), making it the most expensive car sold at this year's show and the priciest vehicle BYD has ever produced.

The U9 Xtreme is limited to 30 units worldwide, all in left-hand-drive configuration, with no more than one allocated per export market. Politis has indicated the car will primarily serve as a promotional asset for BYD dealerships in Australia rather than a road car — a practical concession given that left-hand-drive vehicles face strict registration limits in the country.

At roughly 11 times the cost of the standard Yangwang U9, which lists at 1,800,000 CNY (c. $263,200), the Xtreme occupies a price bracket closer to Bugatti and Pagani territory than anything previously associated with the BYD Group.

The numbers behind the Xtreme are what justify that gap. BYD unveiled the track-focused variant on September 14, 2025, alongside two headline records. At ATP Automotive Testing Papenburg in Germany, driver Marc Basseng pushed the U9 Xtreme to 496.22 km/h (308 mph), claiming the outright production-car top speed record — surpassing not only every other EV but every production car regardless of powertrain.

Yangwang U9 Xtreme front (BYD)

On August 22, 2025, racing driver Moritz Kranz — a German track specialist with nearly 10,000 Nordschleife laps to his name — piloted the car to a 6:59.157 at the Nürburgring, making it the first production EV to break the seven-minute barrier.

That time eclipsed the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra's 7:04.957 by over five seconds, putting a Chinese EV at the top of the Nordschleife leaderboard for production electric cars.

BYD's e4 quad-motor powertrain, branded Yi Sifang, is the mechanical core of the Xtreme. Each of its four motors produces 555 kW and spins to 30,000 rpm, delivering a combined 2,220 kW (c. 3,000 hp).

Yangwang U9 Xtreme rear (BYD)

The system operates on a 1,200V silicon carbide platform — a world first in mass production, according to BYD — paired with an LFP battery. Stopping power comes from a titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic braking system, while Yangwang's DiSus-X active suspension delivers up to 9 kW of bidirectional pressure per wheel and adjusts at rates of up to 500 mm per second.

The production U9 Xtreme appeared at the Beijing show in a black-and-gold livery with a prominent rear wing, debuting alongside two other Yangwang premieres: the four-seat U8L SUV and a new U7 sedan.

Giti tires supplied the rubber for the top speed run, and Top Gear named the speed record its "Moment of the Year" — recognition that would have been unthinkable for a Chinese brand a few years ago.

For BYD, the Xtreme is less about volume and more about repositioning Yangwang as a technology flagship capable of standing alongside established European hypercar makers.

Whether the remaining 29 buyers will surface at future auto shows — or quietly collect their cars behind closed doors — remains to be seen.

Conversion rate: 1 USD = 6.84 CNY as of April 29, 2026