A Yangwang U9 Xtreme has crashed on a closed track in China. Video and photos of the accident were published on November 2, 2026. Later that day, Yangwang said the car will restart its top-speed challenge, this time on a road in Abu Dhabi.
What the footage shows
According to CarNewsChina, the electric hypercar left its line at high speed and hit a barrier. The impact tore the rear axle completely off the car, and the body was badly damaged. The driver was not injured. Reports say he got out of the car on his own, and Autoblog.nl adds that medical staff checked him straight away.
No official details of the run have been given. CarNewsChina suggested it may have been a test run toward the planned 500 km/h attempt. That link has not been confirmed.
The record attempt goes ahead
Yangwang, BYD's luxury brand, announced on November 2 that the U9 Xtreme will restart its top-speed challenge on a road in Abu Dhabi. In its statement, the brand recalled that the car reached 496.22 km/h last year and said it was setting off again after "an accident, setbacks and renewed preparation". The statement did not describe the accident.
Hu Zhengnan, vice president of Xiaomi Group and CTO of its car business, reposted the announcement and saluted those still doing the hard work.
The 500 km/h plan has been known for months. BYD vice president Stella Li first said the car would try to pass that mark in the UAE in November, and Yangwang sales chief Hu Xiaoqing later repeated it. Some earlier reports named Dubai as the venue. The brand's latest statement names Abu Dhabi.
The car
The U9 Xtreme set its 496.22 km/h top speed in September 2025 at the ATP test track in Papenburg, Germany. It uses four electric motors on a 1,200 V silicon carbide platform, with a claimed combined peak output of 2,220 kW (2,977 hp). The battery has a capacity of 80 kWh and supports 30C discharge.
For high-speed running, the car sits on 20-inch wheels with GitiSport e·Gtr2 Pro semi-slick tyres and carries an aero kit with a large rear wing. CarNewsChina puts its price at about $3 million.
It is not yet clear whether the crash will change the timing of the Abu Dhabi attempt.