While many of us grew up dreaming of owning a high-revving Ferrari or Porsche, future supercar dreamers might aspire to own machines that don’t run on gas and are built on the other side of the world. Brands like BYD’s Yangwang and GAC’s Hyper are poised to deliver their first super sports cars and this video of the YangWang U9 in action shows they’re taking the testing process seriously.
The clip from Car News China’s YouTube channel is only brief, but it shows the U9 tearing along the start finish straight of a Chinese race track, its brake rotors glowing like it’s six hours into shooting for a Le Mans class win. The carbon brake rotors at both ends of the car have turned a bright orange, but the front discs are at least twice as bright as the rears, showing just how much more effort they contribute to slowing a car down.
Related: YangWang U9 Is An Electric Supercar From China That Hits 60 In 2.0 Sec
Though it’s not the kind of thing you see on the road, racing fans and track day addicts will have seen this phenomenon before. And considering the U9’s quad-motor setup borrowed from the U8 SUV generates 1,069 hp (808 kW / 1,084 PS) and the complete car probably weighs well over 4,400 lbs (2,000 kg), it’s no surprise that the brakes are working so hard. YangWang says it can accelerate from zero to 62 mph (100 kmh) in 2.0 seconds, which makes it a tenth slower than its far more expensive Hyper SSR rival, but far faster than any European sports car available at tis price point.
The U9 costs $137,000 at current exchange rates but the least expensive Hyper SSR comes in at $176,000 and needs 2.3 seconds to reach 62 mph. Hyper does sell a more extreme version of the SSR that can get there in 1.9 seconds, but that will set you back at least $190,000.
Former Alfa, Audi and Lamborghini designer Wolfang Egger headed up the U9’s design team, which explains why it looks kind of familiar, and YangWang also gave its first supercar a large 100 kWh battery that provides a claimed range of 430 miles (700 km). But its real party piece is its ability to jump up and down and drive on three wheels like an old Citroen DS. Do you think Western supercar brands need to take the Chinese threat seriously? Drop a comment below and lets us know your thoughts.
Source: Car News China