BYD Yangwang U7 comes with a monstrous battery to feed 1,287 hp powertrain

BYD’s luxury brand Yangwang is inching closer to officially launching its second electric vehicle - the U7 sedan (or should we say supercar?). Luckily plenty of details became available before the unveiling of the beast, either due to regulatory procedures or the ever-active army of car spotters and internet sleuths.

Yangwang already applied for a sales license last month for the U7 and that’s how we saw the design details and learned about the ridiculous 1,287 hp powertrain.

We get to add another bit now and it's equally impressive - the first electric sedan from Yangwand will come with a mammoth 135.5 kWh battery pack. It's an LFP pack made by FinDreams, a BYD’s battery manufacturer. The pack on its own weighs a whopping 1,991 lb - almost as much as the entire Dacia Spring.

There’s no question - the U7 comes with enough range to cross a small country on a single charge. In fact, there are two CLTC-verified ranges - 447 miles and 497 miles. The latter is achieved with additional aerodynamic wheel covers, optional bumpers, and side cameras instead of mirrors. The full treatment results in the drag coefficient dropping to 0.195 Cd and brings the range up.

While unquestionably the U7’s range is remarkable, it’s hardly the best around. The vehicle itself comes in at 6,823 lb and with 4 passengers and their luggage, it can easily tip the scales at over 7,716 lb - a driving license limit still applicable in many countries for passenger cars.

The Lucid Air with a 118 kWh battery pack comes with 559 miles WLTP rating, while Nio ET7, with the 150 kWh battery pack, sailed past the 620 miles mark in real-life testing. What is even more interesting, is the fact that Nio’s 150 kWh battery pack weighs “only” 1,268 lb. That’s 63% of the U7 battery pack’s weight and 110% of its capacity, if you fancy some quick stats.

Despite the less than perfect efficiency, Yangwang U7 is still shaping up to be one heck of an EV. At 207.3 inches in length, it overshadows every electric sedan on the road, except for the new Nio ET9, BMW i7, and Rolls-Royce Spectre. That’s right, even the Mercedes EQS is shorter. The U7’s 4-seat (optional) interior will be the epitome of luxury if its U8 sibling is anything to go by.

The 1,287 hp Yangwang U7 sure looks like it deserves every cent of its rumored RMB 1 million price tag, which is around $140,000 at current exchange rates. That’s no small change by any stretch of the imagination - Zeekr 001 FR can be had for similar money in China, while Lotus Emeya starts looking like a bargain next to the U7. Even the Tesla Model S Plaid comes in at RMB 828,900, making the new Yangwang look expensive. And that in China is apparently a good thing.

Via