A new chapter in high-performance electric vehicles has been written at Germany’s Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme, built by BYD’s luxury sub-brand Yangwang, has set a new lap record for electric supercars, completing the 20.8-kilometer circuit in 6 minutes 59.157 seconds. The milestone marks the first time an all-electric supercar has broken the seven-minute barrier on one of the world’s most demanding racetracks.
Driven by German racing veteran Moritz Kranz, the U9 Xtreme eclipsed the previous record by more than five seconds. Kranz, who has logged nearly 10,000 laps around the Nordschleife during his GT racing career, piloted the Chinese-built hypercar through the circuit’s 73 corners and elevation changes that have long been a benchmark for manufacturers testing the limits of performance and durability.
The U9 Xtreme’s record-setting run was the culmination of months of development and testing at the Nürburgring, where engineers refined everything from suspension tuning to thermal management. The car is powered by four independent electric motors, each spinning up to 30,000 rpm, producing a combined output of over 3,000 horsepower. Built on a 1,200-volt electrical platform, the vehicle achieves a power-to-weight ratio of 1,217 PS per tonne — putting it in the upper echelon of modern performance machines, regardless of powertrain type.
For its record attempt, Yangwang fitted the car with a custom cooling system, titanium-alloy carbon-ceramic brakes, and semi-slick Giti tires designed for peak grip. The model also employs the company’s e⁴ Platform and DiSus-X body-control system, the same technologies featured in the production U9 but refined for track performance.
The Nürburgring record adds to a growing list of achievements for the U9 Xtreme, which recently reached a verified top speed of 496.22 kilometers per hour at the ATP Papenburg proving ground. Only 30 examples of the hypercar will be built, solidifying its exclusivity as a technological showcase of Chinese engineering prowess.
With the sub-seven-minute lap, Yangwang joins an elite circle of performance marques that have conquered the Nordschleife — signaling that the electric era is no longer chasing history, but making it.
