Chinese sports car Denza Z debuts in the UK and promises a Nürburgring record

Denza, a brand owned by BYD, held the premiere of the electric sports car Denza Z at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, aimed primarily at the European market. Sales of the Denza Z will begin before the end of this year, with the sports car offered in coupe and convertible body styles. All versions are equipped with a three-motor powertrain producing 1,604 hp.

The Denza Z was first shown as a concept in the spring of last year at the Shanghai Auto Show, and today its production version has been presented. The Chinese “Z” (not to be confused with the Nissan Z) is positioned as an electric alternative to the Porsche 911, which, as is well known, has no intention of switching entirely to electric power. The design of the Denza Z was developed under the leadership of the highly experienced Wolfgang Egger (BYD’s design director since 2016), who previously worked at Alfa Romeo, Seat, Lancia, Audi, and Lamborghini.

The Denza Z is based on the e 3 Sports Car Platform. The sports car will have three versions — Coupe, Spider (convertible), and Racing (a coupe tuned for the race track). The body with a 2+2 seating layout is made of steel and aluminum, with a claimed torsional rigidity of 40,000 Nm/degree for the coupe. The front suspension uses double wishbones, while the rear is an independent multi-link setup. All versions are equipped with adaptive dampers using magnetorheological fluid, with the Coupe and Spider versions using air springs as elastic elements, while the Racing version uses coil springs. The brakes are carbon-ceramic with 6-piston calipers on the front axle and 4-piston calipers on the rear.

The overall length of the Denza Z Coupe is 4,780 mm, width — 1,975 mm, height — 1,330 mm, and wheelbase — 2,780 mm. The convertible’s height is increased to 1,350 mm. The Racing version has slightly larger dimensions due to its extensive aerodynamic package: length — 4,870 mm, width — 1,990 mm, height — 1,350 mm. The Denza Z weighs between 2,230 and 2,300 kg in curb weight. The Racing version is easy to identify by its fixed rear wing; the aggressive aerodynamic package generates up to 1,060 kg of downforce at a speed of 350 km/h.

The interior of the Denza Z is simple but neat. The thick-rimmed steering wheel is equipped with large buttons for activating various driving modes, the instrument screen is 8.88 inches, and the multimedia screen is 12.8 inches with built-in Google services. The powerful audio system is supplied by Devialet (12 speakers in the coupe, 10 in the convertible). Trunk volume is 250 liters for the coupe and 131 liters for the convertible with the top down, or 176 liters with the top up.

The powertrain in all versions is three-motor (one motor on the front axle, two on the rear), with a maximum combined output of 1,180 kW (1,604 hp) and 1,240 Nm. The cells of the lithium iron phosphate battery are packed directly into the body without intermediate casing. The battery capacity is 76 kWh. The maximum charging power is 1,500 kW! Charging from 10% to 97% at this power takes just nine minutes. The driving range on a single charge for the Coupe version is 409 km on the WLTP cycle, for the Spider version — 399 km, and for the Racing version — 380 km.

The Denza Z Coupe and Racing accelerate to 100 km/h in 2.25 seconds, with a top speed of 300 km/h. On semi-slick tires, the Denza Z Racing can reach 100 km/h in 1.96 seconds, and the top speed increases to 350 km/h. The Denza Z Spider reaches 100 km/h in 2.3 seconds, with a top speed of 300 km/h.

Later, a more extreme version of the Denza Z will appear with a powertrain producing 2,000 hp and acceleration to 100 km/h in less than 1.7 seconds. An even more aggressive aerodynamic package will be capable of generating up to 2,000 kg at a speed of 300 km/h. It is this version that will attempt to set a new Nürburgring record among production electric vehicles. The current record belongs to the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Manthey Kit — 6 min 55.533 sec, while the previous record was set by the Yangwang U9 Xtreme — 6 min 59.157 sec.

The Denza Z sports car will appear at European BYD dealers before the end of this year, with order books opening as early as summer. Prices were not specified in the press release, but they were published by the resource CnEVPost: the Denza Z Coupe will cost from £142,900 in the UK, the Denza Z Spider — from £159,900, and the Denza Z Racing — from £172,900.