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BYD Just Launched The Ultimate Theme Park For Car Lovers

  • The center includes a 1-mile (1.7 km) race track with a straight long enough to hit 136 mph.
  • BYD has also built the world’s largest sand dune climbing facility for car testing.
  • Ticket prices range from $83 to roughly $927 for the VIP package.

Porsche has its Experience Centers, and now Chinese juggernaut BYD has opened a massive, all-terrain driving experience center in Zhengzhou that’s basically a dream theme park for any automotive enthusiast. Many of the brand’s most impressive models are available to test at the site, including the all-electric Yangwang U9.

Perhaps the highlight of the facility is a 1-mile (1.7-km) race track with nine corners and a 1,804-foot (550 m) straight, long enough to let BYD’s flagship models hit up to 136 mph (220 km/h). Situated near the track is a 15,300 square-meter ‘dynamic paddock’ where cars can complete slalom and moose tests, and showcase their automated parking functions.

Read: This YangWang Comes With Three Times The Power Of A Bugatti Veyron

BYD has also built a large low-friction area with 30,000 smooth basalt bricks that gets covered in water, aiming to replicate driving on snow and ice. It’s even gone ahead and built a huge 70-meter-long pool. The latter isn’t for swimming in, but has been designed to showcase the YangWang U8’s ability to float and move slowly across water thanks to its advanced electric powertrain. Yes, despite the brand’s status and painstaking attention to detail, this isn’t something you’ll find at a Porsche Experience Center.

 BYD Just Launched The Ultimate Theme Park For Car Lovers

You also won’t find anything like BYD’s Sand Incline at a Porsche facility either. This massive sand dune has been certified by Guinness World Records as the highest and largest dune climbing facility for car testing, constructed from 6,200 tons of sand mimicking the sand found in the Alxa Desert. It also serves as a proving ground for the U8. The facility also includes a separate off-roading area as well as a large camping and relaxation area for visitors.

 BYD Just Launched The Ultimate Theme Park For Car Lovers

Four different tickets are available for those who’d like to experience all that BYD has to offer. The cheapest ticket, priced at 899 yuan or $83, includes a passenger ride in the YangWang U9 as well as experiences in one vehicle from BYD’s Dynasty or Ocean series. A pricier 999 yuan ($139) ticket is also offered, adding experiences with two Denza and Fang Cheng Bao models, including a track drive of the Z9 GT.

Two other ticket options are available. The first costs 1,999 yuan or $280 and includes experiences in both the YangWang U8 and U9, as well as the Dynasty/Ocean series models and cars from Denza and Fang Cheng Bao. A VIP ticket is also available, costing 6,666 yuan or $927. It includes access to all models and areas of the facility, as well as a one-night stay in a nearby five-star hotel.

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What Looks Like A DIY Disaster Is China’s Answer To Porsche

  • BYD’s prototype looks like a project car but it’s based on the Denza Z concept.
  • Denza’s electric coupe features adaptive suspension and a dual-motor AWD setup.
  • A production version is expected to be introduced within the next two years.

It’s no secret that BYD is rapidly climbing the global sales charts, cranking out an ever-growing lineup of electric and plug-in hybrid models. But even ambitious automakers have off days, and this time, BYD might have let its engineers go a little too wild in the workshop.

A new prototype has surfaced in China that looks more like a garage art project than a car supposedly aiming to compete with the likes of Porsche, including the upcoming 718 EV (at least on paper).

Read: Denza Z Is An Electric Porsche Rival With A Fold-Away Steering Wheel

This bizarre prototype was recently spotted in China and despite missing most of its bodywork, we can see it’s a tester for the Denza Z. First showcased at the recent Shanghai Auto Show as a concept, it’s clear BYD has already given Denza the green light to bring it into production.

What immediately stands out is the sheer amount of spray foam involved. For whatever reason, it covers the roof, rear window, and rear deck, creeping across pillars and window frames, even appearing to bond some of the body panels. It makes this prototype appear to be something a rogue DIYer has put together in their garage, rather than something we’d expect to see from a multi-billion-dollar carmaker.

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Photos Autohome

Hidden beneath this excess of foam will be a host of impressive features that should make the Denza Z one serious performer. According to a report from China’s Autohome the production Denza Z will pack an electric powertrain pushing out roughly 536 horsepower (400 kW). That should be enough to send it to 62 mph (100 km/h) in just over 3.0 seconds.

The Powertrain

Limited details about the powertrain are known, but it’ll presumably be a dual-motor setup borrowing a battery pack from a current BYD model. What we do know is that it will hit the market with double-wishbone front suspension and adaptive shocks, ensuring it handles just as well as it accelerates.

Despite the dodgy bodywork of this prototype, it’s safe to assume that the production model’s design will be very similar to the concept, which is a good thing.

The cabin layout should also carry over, though this test car swaps the concept’s foldaway steering wheel for a conventional one. It’s unclear whether that retractable wheel will make it to the final version, but it seems unlikely given current road safety regulations and the extra complexity it would bring.

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