BYD reveals 349km/h Denza Z Coupe electric supercar

The production-spec Denza Z Coupe has been unveiled with a monstrous 1164kW/1241Nm three-motor electric powertrain and a claimed 0-100km/h time of just 2.25 seconds – undercutting even the million-dollar McLaren 788HS supercar revealed yesterday.

The Chinese luxury auto brand's all-new flagship four-seat coupe, first shown in concept form in April 2025 as an electric rival for the Porsche 911, will spearhead the UK launch of Denza, BYD's premium brand, later this year when first local deliveries will take place.

Denza, already on sale in Australia with the large plug-in hybrid B5 and B8 off-road SUVs and the D9 electric people mover, also announced an even faster Racing version of the Z Coupe, fitted with a massive rear wing and semi-slick tyres, and claimed to hit 100km/h in a staggering 1.96 seconds.

The all-wheel drive Z Coupe has a claimed top speed of 186mph (299km/h), while the Racing version is claimed to reach 349km/h (220mph). And even more powerful Special Edition producing 1451kW is also in the works.

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Denza says the Special Edition will accelerate from 0-100km/h in 1.7 seconds, matching the claimed time of the Aspark Owl, currently the world's fastest-accelerating production car.

The Z Coupe's design is the work of former Audi designer and current BYD design chief Wolfgang Egger, and follows the electric Z Spider, a 1000hp (746kW) Porsche 911 Cabriolet rival revealed at the Beijing motor show last April.

Both body styles have been confirmed for sale in the UK, with the Z Coupe starting from £142,900 (A$276,064) before on-road costs, and the Spider priced from £159,900 (A$308,906) before on-roads.

That's comparable with the UK price of £144,000 (A$278,189) for the Porsche 911 Carrera GTS Coupe, which is priced from $449,000 plus on-road costs in Australia. The 911 Carrera GTS Cabriolet starts from $412,300 plus ORCs.

The Racing will be priced from £172,000 (A$332,282) plus ORCs in the UK, which is £1000 less than the UK price of the Porsche 911 Turbo that starts from $482,500 plus ORCs in Australia.

Denza Australia is yet to confirm the Z Coupe, Z Spider or Racing for local showrooms.

The Z Coupe is based on the same BYD e3 platform as the Denza Z9 GT electric grand tourer, a four-door Porsche Taycan rival due to go on sale in Australia later this year.

The two-door Z models also share the Z9 GT's high-speed flash-charging capability, which Denza says can recharge the battery from 10 to 97 per cent in about nine minutes. The advanced fast-charging network will be rolled out across Australian Denza dealers later this year.

The Z Coupe and Spider use a 76kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) Blade battery – smaller than the Z9 GT's 122.496kWh unit – with claimed driving ranges of 409km and 399km respectively.

The Racing has a claimed driving range of 380km and uses conventional coil-spring suspension, while the standard Z Coupe and Spider are fitted with air suspension.

All models feature magnetorheological dampers, as previously seen in Australia on Ferrari, Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) and Chevrolet Corvette models, with predictive road-sensing technology.

The Z supercars will also be the first Denza models without a physical steering rack, instead using steer-by-wire technology with no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels.

All UK vehicles will feature carbon-ceramic brakes with six-piston front and four-piston rear calipers, which can be finished in one of four colours.

There will be 10 exterior paint colour options, while the Spider's fabric roof will be available in a number of colours, and UK buyers will also be able to choose from 10 interior colour schemes.

Inside, there's an 8.9-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.8-inch central infotainment touchscreen with Google Built-in. A 12-speaker audio system is fitted to the Coupe and Racing, while the Spider receives a 10-speaker setup.

MORE: Explore the Denza showroom