On 8 August 2025, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme (U9X) hypercar stunned the world by blasting to 472.41 km/h at the Papenburg Automotive Testing (ATP) grounds in Germany. The record was extraordinary — the fastest any electric car had ever gone. But for the Yangwang team, backed by Giti Tire engineers, the job wasn’t finished.
Barely a month later, on 14 September 2025, the U9X returned to the same proving ground with a fresh set of GitiSport e.GTR2 Pro tyres. This time, the target was clear: not just to beat their own EV record, but to take the outright crown.
They succeeded. The U9X tore across the track, driven by German specialist Marc Basseng, and rewrote history with a top speed of 496.22 km/h (308.34 mph). A production-car world record. The fastest car on the planet.
The Tyre Built for Records
Behind that number was an invisible battle fought at ground level. At nearly 500 km/h, every rotation of the tyre is a war against crushing G-forces, surging heat, and the deadly standing waves that can rip rubber apart in an instant.
The GitiSport e.GTR2 Pro was created for this fight, designed from the ground up with a toolkit of extreme technologies:
- Molecular Chain Optimisation: reinforced rubber compounds with higher tensile and tear strength, holding shape at lethal speeds.
- Ultra-High-Strength Aramid Fibres: boosting structural rigidity and load-bearing capacity against the U9X’s immense weight.
- Next-Gen Racing Profile: geometry tuned for even pressure distribution, cutting heat build-up and energy loss.
- RaceGrip Pro formulation: race-grade fillers delivering 38% more grip and a wider temperature window.
- Anti-Standing Wave Structure: tested indoors to 500 km/h, eliminating destructive ripples at extreme velocity.
- Fast Warm-Up Additives: reducing tyre warm-up time by 60 percent for immediate performance.
- Bionic Sidewall Design: engineered for rapid response and sharper cornering control.
Certified to CCC/ECE regulations, this tyre sits in the rarefied air of semi-slick, street-legal performance rubber — the same kind of equipment you’d expect on the fastest machines on Earth.
The Team Behind the Record
Marc Basseng piloted the U9X across the ATP’s endless tarmac, but he wasn’t alone. Giti engineers stood trackside, monitoring pressures, surface temps, and compound integrity, making sure every second of the run stayed within razor-thin margins.
“It is an honour to be here, in person, to witness this great milestone achievement for our valued partner, BYD. Giti is proud to have partnered with BYD for this project, to have front row seats to the advancement of mobility. We are committed to continuously pushing the boundaries of sustainable performance collaboratively with our partners and in building quality products that allow people to Enjoy Driving.”
Andy Ng, General Manager for Original Equipment Manufacturing, Export Markets
496 km/h: The Number That Changed Everything
In the span of six weeks, the U9X went from setting an electric land speed record to standing on top of the world as the fastest production car ever built. Twice in a year, two records shattered, both carried by the same weapon at the contact patch — GitiSport e.GTR2 Pro tyres.
This was not just a victory for a car, or a brand, but a signal that the era of electric speed has arrived. And in that moment of history, it was Giti rubber that kept the dream alive, rotation by rotation, all the way to 496.22 km/h.
