There are drivers who test the limits of cars, and then there is Richard Hammond. Over a career built around speed, tire smoke, and raw mechanical drama, the well-known British automotive journalist has brought extreme performance cars closer to mainstream audiences in a way that feels almost approachable. Yet some of his most unforgettable moments did not come from flawless driving but from times when things went very wrong.
In 2006, Hammond survived a serious crash while driving a jet-powered dragster, an accident that sent him to the hospital and served as a brutal reminder of how small the margin for error becomes at extreme speed.
Years later, during a hill climb event, he famously crashed a Rimac Concept One, a $2,000,000 electric hypercar producing about 1,200 horsepower, walking away from the wreckage once again. Those moments became part of his personal mythology, reinforcing how closely speed and danger are linked in his automotive world.
That history makes it almost surreal to watch him approach another machine pushing the boundaries of performance, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, a hypercar whose output is said to nearly triple that of the Rimac he once crashed.
Nervous Respect Behind The Wheel
Hammond did not try to hide his nervousness. His experiences with extremely powerful cars remain fresh in memory, and vehicles in this category do not tolerate mistakes. Caution was evident from the moment he climbed into the cockpit and rolled onto the track.
What surprised him most, however, was not brutality but effortlessness. The acceleration did not build gradually or signal that a surge was coming. It simply happened. Instantly. One moment you are here, the next you are far down the track, and the car itself feels almost indifferent to the speed it is delivering.
Rather than feeling like an explosive event, acceleration became a simple fact. The car moved with such authority that the sensation of speed nearly disappeared, replaced by an eerie sense of calm efficiency.
More Sophisticated Than Expected
Hammond initially expected a straight-line monster, a machine built purely for sprint numbers. Instead, he discovered a highly sophisticated hypercar with surprising composure. Despite its weight, the U9 Xtreme turns sharply, keeps body movement tightly controlled, and manages complex dynamics in the background while the driver focuses on steering and throttle input.
At certain moments, Hammond reportedly questioned whether he was truly controlling the car or simply participating in a system largely governed by software algorithms. That observation reflects a broader shift in modern performance engineering, where computing power increasingly plays a role equal to mechanical skill.
Technology Behind The Performance
The Yangwang U9 Xtreme represents the most ambitious performance project so far from Chinese automaker BYD. It uses a 1,200-volt electrical architecture and is powered by four electric motors producing a combined output of nearly 3,000 horsepower.
Energy comes from BYD’s Blade lithium iron phosphate battery, engineered to maintain consistent output even under heavy track use. Aerodynamics are designed entirely around function. The car features an aggressive front splitter, a large rear wing, and a multilayer rear diffuser that generates significant downforce at high speed, effectively pressing the car into the pavement.
Officially quoted figures are staggering. The claimed top speed is approximately 308 mph, and the car reportedly completed a lap of the Nürburgring in under seven minutes. Numbers like these push the boundaries of what production vehicles were thought capable of just a few years ago.
Fast Without Drama, And That Might Be The Scariest Part
By the end of the drive, Hammond described the experience as both addictive and slightly unsettling. The car impressed him deeply, yet it also made him uncomfortable. In his view, that balance is exactly how a true hypercar should feel.
What struck him most was how calm the car remained while delivering such extreme performance. There was no theatrical buildup, no mechanical struggle, no sense of drama. Everything happened with cold precision and quiet confidence.
For someone who has survived both a jet dragster crash and a burning electric hypercar, that may be the most unsettling part of all. The Yangwang U9 Xtreme does not feel wild or chaotic. It feels controlled, almost detached, and that level of effortless speed might be more intimidating than raw aggression itself.
This article originally appeared on Autorepublika.com and has been republished with permission by Guessing Headlights. AI-assisted translation was used, followed by human editing and review.