Regular sales and deliveries in China are scheduled to begin in September. Denza would like to bring the Z9 GT to Europe at a later date. This was already indicated by the public presentation of a prototype in Stuttgart in the spring. BYD announced at the time: “The new model will play a central role in the global sales of Denza and BYD.” The Z9 GT was designed by Wolfgang Egger, the former chief designer at Audi and current head of design at BYD.
The Z9 GT is not only visually reminiscent of the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, the new Denza is also in the sports car league in terms of performance: the system output is said to be around 1,000 hp. The kW values are more precise. The car is equipped with three electric motors (one at the front and two at the rear). The drive unit on the front axle produces 230 kW, the two units on the rear axle each produce 240 kW. That makes a total output of 710 kW.
Denza is offering the Z9 GT for pre-sale in three PHEV variants and two BEV variants. All variants are all-wheel drive. According to the Chinese test cycle, the plug-in hybrids have a combined range of 1,100 kilometers, the battery-electric versions have a range of 630 kilometers. The BEVs are said to be able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds, the PHEV in 3.6 seconds.
The Denza Z9 GT is 5.18 meters long, 1.99 meters wide and, depending on the version, 1.50 or 1.48 meters high – with the optional air suspension, this is 20 millimeters less than the standard chassis. The wheelbase is 3.125 meters. A sedan version called the Denza Z9 is also due to come onto the market this year.
The car is based on BYD’s e3 technology and is the first to use this technology. The e3 technology is compatible with plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) platforms and uses BYD’s latest DM 5.0 hybrid technology and e-Platform 3.0 Evo electric technology.
Denza was originally a 50:50 joint venture between BYD and Daimler AG (now the Mercedes-Benz Group). The German carmaker reduced its stake in Denza to 10 percent in 2021, apparently due in part to weak sales figures and Denza’s direction. Since then, BYD has held 90 percent of Denza and is now positioning it as a global high-end brand. The model range includes three vehicles: the D9 minivan and the N7 and N8 crossovers.
cnevpost.com, carnewschina.com
