1,300-HP Chinese Quad-Motor Supercar: 2.6 Tons, No Rear Window, Practical Trunk

The performance figures of the tongue-twister all-electric, all-wheel drive two-seater BYD model have been subject to speculation. Still, according to the Wheelsboy YouTube channel host, the final power rating is 960 kW (1,287 hp, 1,305 PS). That’s a lot, no matter how we look at it (at least in this day and age), as only a handful of automobiles can match or surpass that figure.

The quad-motor architecture is unbiased (240 kW from each motor driving its dedicated wheel). It allows the supercar to perform tank turns. However, that’s not exactly what a customer would want from a sleek BEV two-seater with McLaren-ish looks and Rimac Nevera performance aspirations.

According to its makers, the Chinese super-electric-car should achieve 100 kph (62 mph) in two seconds after a standing start, and its top speed is limited to 300 kph (187 mph). The battery pack powering the Yangwang U9 is a proprietary 100-kWh LFP (lithium iron phosphate), which should last for 700 km (435 miles).

That’s probably in Eco mode – yes, this car has that electricity-saving feature, too – and it is measured by Chinese standards (that don’t necessarily coincide with the rest of the world’s agreement upon metrics). But that’s not the striking feature of this EV – especially with the Teslas frozen solid these days in bone-chilling temperatures, with owners wishing their quiet and quick electric vehicles would make some running noise.

What immediately catches the eye is the size of the damn thing – it’s like a scale model of a proper supercar, except it's upscaled. The Yangwang U9’s dimensions are 4,966 x 2,029 x 1,295 mm (195.5 x 79.9 x 51 inches) over a wheelbase of 2,900 mm (114.2 inches). That’s a lot of cars for a two-seater, but at least it has a trunk (reasonably large, to be fair, from what we can tell from this video).

However, here’s where the Chinese got the supercar thing a bit on its side: the aluminum-carbon Yangwang U9 weighs over 2.6 tons (without passengers and their luggage), which dwarfs pretty much everybody in the field. In this light, the power-to-weight ratio drops to under 500 bhp/ton, which isn’t all that impressive anymore.

The car featured in the video is the carbon-fiber-clad track version – that big wing on the back, massive lip on the front, and active aero in the rear diffuser should give it right away. One less visible particularity is that it has no rear window at all. The mirror in the cockpit is, in fact, a display for a video camera.

One of the car’s most talked-about features is its ability to drive on three wheels, thanks to the DiSus-X suspension and stabilization system. A neat feature to have handy in case of a flat tire (but note that the same equipment also allows it to jump straight up in the air with all four wheels off the ground). Another odd trait – for a supercar, at least – is the passenger display that offers full infotainment access.

I can’t say whether it’s good or bad that this BYD performance two-seater will be available for the Chinese market. The estimated retail price of around $150,000 is definitely something traditional supercar brands should pay attention to.

The build quality is not on par with Europe’s finest or Corvette’s, according to the YouTuber. Hence, those 1,300-hp had better smoke the competition to compensate. Still, the car is just a preproduction version, so we should expect more surprises for the actual model.

Sadly, we don’t yet have a drive test video review, and it’s probably unlikely that we will see the Yangwang U9 going head-to-head with consecrated speed lords over the standing quarter mile any time soon.