BYD's new Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a limited-edition track hypercar, debuted with a 2,220-kW four-motor system, a {{496.22 km/h}} top speed, and a new Nürburgring time of 6:59.157.
The thing about horsepower like that is that its complelty useless for the task of moving people; speed is limited by human perception and response time, not something about the engine or car.
Going faster means having a controlled travel environment, like high speed rail
You’re assuming humans will be in control. We already have self-driving cars that are working well enough to expand into several additional markets, so surely combining that with vehicles that can get people where they want to be significantly faster can’t be all that far behind.
It’s also one that’s only going to have 30 made, according to the article. Most of those are likely to only wind up sitting in billionaires’ garages for bragging rights. People do stupid shit for the chance to brag about it, and this company is talking advantage of that to gain in multiple ways: financial, reputation, experience, etc.
The thing about horsepower like that is that its complelty useless for the task of moving people; speed is limited by human perception and response time, not something about the engine or car.
Going faster means having a controlled travel environment, like high speed rail
You’re assuming humans will be in control. We already have self-driving cars that are working well enough to expand into several additional markets, so surely combining that with vehicles that can get people where they want to be significantly faster can’t be all that far behind.
This is a vehicle that’s being made today, not some hypothetical future that has no pedestrians or other vehicles
It’s also one that’s only going to have 30 made, according to the article. Most of those are likely to only wind up sitting in billionaires’ garages for bragging rights. People do stupid shit for the chance to brag about it, and this company is talking advantage of that to gain in multiple ways: financial, reputation, experience, etc.