William from Out of Spec Roaming gets time with the Denza Z9 GT, BYD's luxury performance brand. Denza was originally a joint venture between BYD and Mercedes-Benz; Mercedes has since exited and the brand is now fully BYD's. Three motors produce 1,156 hp total: an induction motor in the front and two permanent magnet motors in the rear. The induction motor can be fully decoupled for efficiency, making the car effectively rear-wheel drive in normal conditions and all-wheel drive on demand.
The battery is a 122 kWh BYD Blade Battery second generation unit on a 1,000V architecture. William and his co-driver confirmed this at a public European charger, where the car showed around 920 volts at the inlet and held approximately 300 kW from a high state of charge through to roughly 80%, before dropping off gradually. That is still above the peak charging rate of many current European EVs at those percentages. With BYD's own flash chargers, the Z9 GT goes from 10% to 97% in about 9 minutes. Claimed range is approximately 600 km.
The standout mechanical feature is independent rear-wheel steering, where each rear wheel has its own actuator and can turn in opposing directions. The result: the car can pivot around either rear wheel, spinning the rest of the body in a circle with the selected wheel as a fixed point. It can also crab walk, driving diagonally with all four wheels angled the same direction. For parallel parking, the system automates the pivot move, requiring the driver only to release the brake. William tried it on camera and described the sensation as being towed by an invisible vehicle.
The turning circle is 5.3 meters in a car that is 5.2 meters long. Active seat bolsters tighten around the driver in sport mode. The rear seats are spacious, with enough legroom to sit behind your own driving position. A built-in fridge behind the center console can heat or cool. Napa leather seats with cooling, heating, and massage are standard. Automatic doors front and rear open and close hands-free.
The Z9 GT costs approximately €115,000 in Europe. William notes the accelerator mapping has a slight delay and some carry-through after release, which disrupts the otherwise impressive performance. There is no one-pedal driving, consistent with BYD's approach across their lineup. Infotainment is functional but not class-leading for a car at this price. Camera-based side mirrors are standard and not replaceable with glass. The rear camera quality is poor for a vehicle in this segment. A rear-wheel-drive version with better range is expected later.