BYD Just Unveiled a Boundary-Pushing Supercar That Churns Out 1,600 HP

Denza’s new supercar looks like it could be something truly special.

The BYD-owned luxury marque unveiled the finished Z at last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. The brand’s latest creation features a boundary-pushing powertrain that pumps out nearly 1,600 horses and will actually be released in Europe.

The Z has mainly been teased as a Porsche 911 rival up until now, but it looks to have more in common with a supercar than a sports car. That’s because the futuristic speed machine comes equipped with a tri-motor setup (one motor up front, two in the back) that Denza says will be able to produce a shocking 1,582 hp and 914 ft lbs of torque. For the few drivers who somehow think that output isn’t enough, there are the track-focused Racing and the range-topping Special Edition variants, which will make an even more ridiculous 1,971 horses.

With that much power at its disposal, it only makes sense that the Z is fast. And quite fast at that. Denza says the standard version of the EV, which will be available as a coupe and an open-top Spider, can accelerate from zero to 62 mph in 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of 188 mph. The Racing and Special Edition, meanwhile, can reach 62 mph in just 1.7 seconds and top out at 217 mph. The company also says the last top-of-the-line Z will be the latest Chinese EV to make a run at the Nürburgring Nordschleife lap record this fall.

Of course, when it comes to EVs, power and speed aren’t the only performance numbers that matter. The Z is built on e3 platform and features its second-generation 76-kWh Blade battery. Its range isn’t spectacular—the company says the coupe has a 255-mile range, the Spider a 249-mile range, and the Racing a 236-mile range—but the pack can be taken from 10 to 97 per cent capacity in just nine minutes.

The EV features a low-slung stance and a body that Denza describes as “a living sculpture of speed.” The Racing variant doesn’t look radically different, but it does add a giant three-way-adjustable wing. Denza has yet to share images of the Special Edition, but it will wear an even more aggressive aero package made of “race-grade, dual-layer composite” that the company says will produce over 4,400 pounds of downforce. Inside, the vehicle features a driver-centric cockpit equipped with an 8.9-inch digital gauge cluster, a 12.8-inch infotainment screen, and a steering wheel with six physical buttons for easy access to features like Track and Boost mode.

Just as impressive as all that is how much the Denza will reportedly cost. The coupe will start at 142,900 pounds, or roughly US$191,000; the Spider at 159,900 pounds, or US$214,000; and the Racing at 172,900 pounds, or $231,000, according to Top Gear. The car is set to go on sale in Europe this fall, though a U.S. release is unlikely for the time being.

This story was originally published on Robb Report USA.

Photos: BYD