Overview
- A video posted to BYD’s Weibo and shared by media shows the U9 Xtreme lose control on approach to a banked turn and slam into barriers during a high‑speed evaluation run in China.
- Company footage and reporting place the crash speed at about 420–450 km/h rather than at the 500+ km/h figures some accounts suggested.
- The impact ripped away the rear subframe, tore off the front end and the driver’s side door, and left the car structurally damaged while the test driver walked away without major injury.
- The U9 Xtreme is a 30‑unit limited model powered by four 555 kW motors (about 2,220 kW total) and it previously recorded a single‑direction 496.22 km/h top speed, illustrating the extreme forces involved in near‑record runs.
- BYD has said it still aims to attempt 500 km/h in Dubai on a 15 km road with local police support, but the China crash raises safety and timing questions for that effort and for the remaining customer cars.