Image Credit: Captain Electro.
Back when I had more hair and fewer complaints about my lower back, the phrase "no replacement for displacement" actually meant something. It meant you needed a big engine to make a car go fast - it was simple. That's all a load of old cobblers now. The Chinese have taken that rulebook, set it on fire, and then launched the ashes into orbit using magnets.
As it seems to be a norm for a Chinese car, the 2026 BYD Yangwang U7 has a name that sounds like a misunderstanding at a noisy pub, but you'd best pay attention. BYD, the company that seems to build a new car every time I blink, has decided that what we really need is a luxury sedan with more power than a Bugatti Veyron and a battery large enough to power a small town for a long weekend.
Image Credit: BYD.
The headline number: the U7 has a range of 625 miles (1,006 km). Do you know what that is? Because that's definitely not a car. It is a challenge. Who on God's green earth has a bladder capable of enduring a 625-mile drive without a tactical stop? I know I don't. I can't make it through a feature-length movie without needing a wander. If you ever buy this car, you won't need a charging cable. You'd be better off getting a catheter.
Underneath the floorboards hides a new 150 kWh battery pack. Most sane electric cars make do with about half that. Putting a 150 kWh battery in a sedan is a bit like fitting a nuclear reactor to a toaster - strictly speaking, it's unnecessary, but by jingo, it'll get the job done. The previous model had a 135 kWh pack, which was already ridiculous, but clearly, someone at BYD headquarters woke up and chose violence.
Image Credit: BYD.
Here is the part that makes my brain hurt. Usually, when you shove a bigger battery into a car, it gets heavier - about 220 pounds (100 kg) heavier in this case - and therefore less efficient. It's simple physics. Newton said so. But apparently, BYD has found a way to bribe Newton. Despite the extra timber, this new U7 is more efficient than the old one. The old girl guzzled electrons at a rate of 19.7 kWh per 62 miles, but this new beastie only sips 17.7 kWh. That's an improvement of 10%. I suspect witchcraft. Or they've filled the tires with helium.
Humongous battery aside - the power numbers are obscenely large as well. The standard version comes with four electric motors delivering a combined 1,287 horsepower (960 kW). But if you are the sort of person who thinks 1,287 horsepower is a bit "pedestrian," you can opt for the upgrade, which pushes it to 1,341 horsepower (1,000 kW). In a four-door sedan. It'll do 0 to 62 mph in 2.9 seconds. That, my friend, is teleportation. You'll leave your stomach at the traffic lights while the rest of you is already in the next county.
Image Credit: BYD.
This machine is not small, either. It stretches 207.3 inches long, sits 78.7 inches wide, and has a wheelbase of 124.4 inches. It's essentially a block of flats on wheels. To stop this leviathan from handling like a shopping cart full of bricks, BYD gave it rear-wheel steering and a hydraulic suspension system called "DiSus." It sounds like a cleaning product, but it allegedly keeps the car flat in corners. It also has an "electronic vertical body control system," which I assume stops it from taking off and joining the Chinese space station.
Even the price is a bit of a laugh. It starts at around $90,050 and goes up to $101,525. I know that's a lot of money to find down the back of the sofa, but for a car with four motors, 1,300 horsepower, and enough range to drive from London to Berlin, or NYC to Detroit on a single charge? It's astonishingly good value. A European manufacturer would charge you that much just for the badge and the optional cup holders.
Image Credit: BYD.
If you are still a dinosaur who breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of a charging plug, they also make a Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) version. It has a 2.0-liter engine, a 52.4 kWh battery (which is still bigger than the battery in a standard Nissan Leaf), and a 16-gallon (60-liter) fuel tank. It'll do about 124 miles on electric power alone and has a total range of over 620 miles. It's for people who want to save the planet but also really enjoy stopping at petrol stations.
The most impressive thing, however, isn't the speed or the size. It's the fact that BYD has managed to break the "vicious cycle" of weight versus range. Everyone else in the industry is crying about how heavy batteries ruin efficiency, and here comes BYD, slapping a 150 kWh slab of lithium-iron-phosphate into a luxury barge and making it more frugal than a Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. Madness.
Image Credit: BYD.
The new Yangwang U7… It's too fast, too big, and has a range that will physically hurt your kidneys. It is a tech wizardry of the highest calibre wrapped in a silly name, delivered with a cheeky grin. I have absolutely no idea where you'd find a road empty enough to unleash all 1,341 horses, but I am glad it exists. I can't help but wonder if every time you jump in, a warning pops up: "Visit the restroom before you set off."
Enjoyed the article? Give us a 'LIKE' and FOLLOW us on MSN! Or Buy us coffee :) Thank you for your support!
