Chinese Supercar in Australia: Electric YangWang U9 Spotted

China’s first electric supercar has been caught on camera being towed through Sydney.

The YangWang U9 – made by Chinese car giant BYD – is powered by four electric motors, producing a combined output of 960kW and 1680Nm.

According to the manufacturer, it can reach 100km/h from a standstill in 2.36 seconds, and cover the 400-metre drag strip in 9.78 seconds – on the way to a top speed of 309km/h.

That makes the YangWang U9 quicker than a W16-powered Bugatti Chiron Super Sport to 100km/h.

While the figures are impressive on their own, what is arguably more impressive is the fact that the U9 weighs 2475kg – or almost half a tonne more than the Bugatti.

The quad-motor U9 uses an 80kWh battery pack with an 800-volt electrical system, allowing for a claimed driving range of up to 465km (CLTC), with a 30-80 per cent recharge time of 10 minutes using a 500kW super-fast charger.

But its party trick is its ability to do a ‘bunnyhop’ – jumping on the spot – thanks to a system that combines independent air suspension with hydraulics.

With up to 200mm of suspension travel, the system can increase the car’s height by up to 150mm, while an intelligent processor can firm or soften the suspension based on the road surface and driver inputs. In other words, it can take a corner with zero body-roll, then ‘float’ over speed humps.

“BYD’s EV hypercar, the Yangwang U9, has touched down in Australia for an exciting series of upcoming tech demonstration events. We will be sharing details about said events in the coming weeks,” a spokesperson for BYD Australia told CarSauce.

“However, while we’re thrilled to see the 960kW performance machine on our shores, there are no plans to bring the U9 to Australia, and it is not being considered for our market.”

As first reported by CarSauce, BYD recently took full control of its Australian operations, dropping EVDirect as its local distributor.

So far, there doesn’t appear to be plans to build the YangWang U9 in right-hand-drive, ruling the supercar out for the Australian market.