Transfer Over, Tesla & Porsche. Behold The Denza Z From BYD!

Join CleanTechnica’s Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott’s in-depth analyses and excessive stage summaries, join our day by day publication, and/or comply with us on Google Information!

Final Up to date on: twenty fourth April 2025, 12:37 pm

Does anybody actually need a automotive that accelerates sooner than a dashing bullet or can do the Kessel run in underneath 12 par/secs? In fact not, however the attract of automobiles with tremendous powers has been a part of our love affair with the auto for greater than a century. Individuals nonetheless discuss in regards to the record-setting drive by Sterling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes 300 SL on the 1955 Mille Miglia. That achievement thrust Mercedes-Benz into the limelight for many years afterwards. Automakers are at all times trying to find a “halo automotive,” one that may lure clients into showrooms. For Chevrolet, it’s the Corvette. For Ford, it’s the Mustang. For Porsche, it’s the 911. And for BYD? Effectively, it actually didn’t have a halo automotive of its personal — till now. Meet the Denza Z.

On the Shanghai Auto present this week, BYD launched the Denza Z and the automotive world might by no means be the identical. Here’s a automotive so svelte and athletic it would encourage lust within the hearts of all who see it. It has the efficiency of a supercar, the appears of a McLaren or Ferrari, and for a worth so low it will likely be inexpensive to mere mortals. In different phrases, that is destined to be a disruptive car. Earlier than we burden you with all of the specifics and technical jargon, take a second to take pleasure in this video beneath. If an image is price a thousand phrases, it’s price a whole library.

Denza is an upmarket model underneath the BYD umbrella. At present, it has quite a few fashions, together with the D9, a big multipurpose car, the N7, a midsize SUV, the N9 full dimension SUV, the Z9 full dimension sedan, and the Z9 GT, a fastback model of the Z9. And now, after all, there may be the standalone Denza Z, a two-seat sports activities automotive with two vestigial jumpseats in again for very small individuals. The idea unveiled his week in Shanghai is a coupe, however in line with press experiences, a droptop model is deliberate as effectively.

Magnificence is within the eye of the beholder, after all, however most individuals will discover the Denza Z to be drop useless beautiful. Automobile Information China claims the automotive is meant to problem the mighty Porsche 911, however some will see greater than a touch of the long-awaited Tesla Roadster 2.0 right here as effectively. Seems to be are one factor, however does the Denza Z have the efficiency chops to match up with the 911, the Corvette, or the supercars from specialty producers like McLaren, Ferrari, and Lamborghini?

Technical particulars are sketchy for now. Automobile Information China experiences that the Denza Z will characteristic BYD’s e3 powertrain that consists of a single electrical motor driving the entrance wheels and two electrical motors, one for every rear wheel. This setup eliminates the necessity for a differential on the rear and offers the automotive way more management over driving dynamics than any mechanical system ever may. BYD just lately introduced it had developed an electrical motor that may spin at greater than 31,000 rpm, and apparently the Denza will profit from that know-how.

Denza Z Is Packed With Know-how

However that’s only the start of the know-how packed into the idea automotive. It is going to be the primary BYD product to characteristic a steer-by-wire system that eliminates any direct mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the entrance wheels. It’s managed by superior AI algorithms that ship a smoother, extra refined dealing with expertise on common roads whereas offering exact and responsive steering on the monitor, the corporate says. As a result of there isn’t any want for a inflexible steering column, the Denza Z is supplied with a foldable steering wheel that’s stated to extend security by creating additional area throughout collisions.

People insist on calling the gadgets that management wheel actions “shock absorbers,” however technically they’re dampers. Each spring has a pure tendency to oscillate — consider a Slinky being held vertically by one finish. Dampers management these oscillations in order that our automobiles don’t go bounding down the street like overpriced pogo sticks.

Dampers have two modes, usually often called jounce and rebound. Jounce is what occurs when a wheel hits a pothole and strikes upward instantly. Rebound is what occurs after the wheel reaches the highest of its upward journey and begins again down. Over the a long time, automotive engineers have struggled to calibrate dampers to perform correctly underneath all driving situations. There are actually lots of of hundreds of permutations that apply to these calculations.

The Denza Z employs what BYD calls its Disus-M system, which makes use of clever magnetorheological know-how to make changes to street situations in lower than 10 milliseconds. BYD says this know-how supplies enhanced stability and assist throughout excessive pace cornering and whereas driving competitively. Magnetorheological isn’t a phrase most of us are acquainted with, so we turned to Wikipedia for help. It says, “A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid, or MRF) is a sort of sensible fluid in a service fluid, often a sort of oil. When subjected to a magnetic discipline, the fluid significantly will increase its obvious viscosity, to the purpose of turning into a viscoelastic stable. Importantly, the yield stress of the fluid when in its lively (“on”) state may be managed very precisely by various the magnetic discipline depth.”

This enables how the fluid contained in the dampeners behaves to be managed with an electromagnet, which allows many attainable control-based functions. Add within the means to scan the street forward with cameras to detect turns, bumps, and pavement irregularities, and you find yourself with a system that may tame any street situation instantaneously. That is very superior stuff that automotive engineers have been dreaming about for generations. CnEVPost factors out that each one the geewizardry discovered on the Denza 9 may discover its solution to different fashions from BYD and Denza sooner or later.

Saving The Finest For Final

So, how a lot will all this goodness value? BYD has not shared any official costs, however the motoring press in China is speaking a couple of automotive that begins at round 300,000 Yuan — simply over $40,000. To place that in perspective, the present model of the Porsche 718, identified within the US because the Cayman, sells in China for $89,000, in line with AutoEvolution. There could also be many variations of the Denza 9 with a number of mixtures of battery dimension, motor output, and technical options, and the chances of the idea automotive reaching manufacturing and promoting for lower than the value of a Chevy Blazer are fairly small. But when one thing that appears something just like the idea automotive goes on sale at that worth, the automotive world will tilt on its axis and nothing will ever be the identical ever once more.

Larry Evans handled us just lately to his tackle BYD, and we look ahead to extra articles by him. Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights informed CNN in a latest interview that “BYD solely is aware of learn how to play offense. Their constant and frequent car and have launches maintain their rivals on their heels, whereas their lowest in school value construction lets them worth their merchandise way more aggressively.”

At CleanTechnica, we by no means provide funding recommendation, principally as a result of we’re mistaken 99.7 % of the time. That being stated, I’ve offered my Tesla shares and acquired shares in BYD. Let’s evaluate notes 5 years from now to see whether or not that was a sensible transfer or one other in an extended line of boneheaded funding selections on my half. Observe to govt editor Zachary Shahan — get one in all these automobiles from BYD/Denza and let me drive it for a yr. I promise, when you do, I provides you with and our readers a full written report!