A Chinese EV is officially the fastest production car in the world and the first production car in history to break the 500 kilometers per hour (310 miles per hour) barrier. BYD's Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a two-door electric hypercar, reached 503.17 kph (312.6 mph) on a public road in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on November 1.

As a reminder, the U9 Xtreme was already the world's fastest car, after it reached 496.22 kph (308.3 mph) back in September 2025, but the Chinese automaker had already set its sights last year on breaking the 500 kph barrier—something that no other production car has ever managed.

The latest and most impressive record happened on a roughly 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) stretch of the E11 road in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra Region, which was closed to public traffic. German racing driver Marc Basseng, the same driver who delivered the previous record, was behind the wheel and needed four runs over the course of two days to set the new record.

The first two runs happened on October 31, when the maximum speed was 490 kph (304.4 mph). Engineers made adjustments to the vehicle's aerodynamics, suspension settings, and tire pressures to improve stability and performance. Then, on the last run of the second day, the Racelogic recorder made the 503.17 kph (312.6 mph) run official.

According to Guinness World Records, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme now holds the records for the highest speed achieved by a production car and an electric production car in a single-direction run. The FIA also confirmed the achievement on its website.

That last part is particularly interesting because the usual way of breaking records involves two separate runs in opposite directions to account for elevation change, wind speed, and any potential breakdown. BYD went for a single run in a single direction, which could make companies like Rimac, Bugatti, and Koenigsegg raise an eyebrow and challenge BYD's result.

Nevertheless, going over 500 kph in a production car—albeit a limited-production model—is immensely impressive, especially considering that it's an EV. BYD plans to make just 30 units of the U9 Xtreme, which is the most powerful and fastest version of the U9 supercar. Powered by four electric motors totaling 2,977 horsepower, the Xtreme uses a 1,200-volt lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack that can discharge at a 30C rate. A set of semi-slick GitiSport e-GTR2 Pro tires keeps the car on the road and provides stopping power, helped by titanium calipers and carbon-ceramic rotors.