DRIVES
Testing, testing
RICHARD LANE
Veyron, U9X, Agera: one big thing in common yet worlds apart
The Saturday before last, an email hit my inbox bearing news that the Bugatti Chiron’s production car speed record was toast. This was notable for two reasons. First, Saturday is an odd time for a big press release to land. The only other work-related email I received that afternoon was a more weekend-appropriate one drawing my attention to a 7.0-litre Lister for sale. The second noteworthy detail was the company that had done the toasting. It wasn’t any of the usual suspects, who tend to pass the trophy among themselves, but BYD’s luxury arm, Yangwang.
What business does the subsidiary of a Chinese conglomerate famous for vertically integrated efficiencies in EV manufacturing have in smashing the most prestigious road car record around? As much as anyone else. And it has worked. Two weeks ago few people knew that the U9 Xtreme or even Yangwang existed. Now we’re muttering about how the car’s 1200V electrical architecture, Blade battery and quartet of electric motors can pump out 2958bhp reliably enough to send it to 308.4mph. That’s 4mph faster than the Chiron Super Sport 300+. It’s 138m per second. London to Leeds in just 25 minutes.