The Chinese rival to the Porsche 911: Denza Z is an £150,000 electric supercar with ridiculous power

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BYD is one of the Chinese newcomers bidding to take over the car market with its range of practical and well-priced family models that are packed with gadgets and equipment.

But it appears to be capable of making more extreme stuff, too.

As part of its ongoing crusade to dominate all car segments, BYD's Denza sub-brand has just unveiled a bonkers electric performance coupé.

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The Denza Z is described as an 'everyday supercar'. But one that's got enough power to rearrange your internal organs.

With over 1,500bhp, it can reach 62mph from a standing start in just two seconds.

Keep the throttle floored and it will reach lightning-fast speeds of up to 217mph.

With a price tag between £142,900 and £172,900, it has ultra-popular sports- and supercars like the Porsche 911 squarely in its sights. Here's what we know about it so far...

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BYD's electric supercar: Denza Z has more power than a Bugatti Chiron and can reach 217mph. But it costs a fraction of the Bugatti as the Chinese brand eyes the Porsche 911 market 

The Denza Z is a fully electric supercar that BYD says will 'stir the soul'.

Powered by three electric motors (two on the rear axle and one at the front), the twin rear motors are part of the Z's 15-in-one fully integrated electric drive unit – a world first.

It uses BYD's latest Blade battery, the Blade 2.0, with a capacity of 76kWh.

But with such monumental power draining its reserves, it won't have a huge full-charge range.

Customers will get between 236 and 254 miles on a 100 per cent charge, depending on the variant they choose.

In an effort to stoke the senses, Denza is creating synthetic virtual engine noises to appease petrolhead clients who typically shop in this sector and will miss the soundtrack of a high-powered combustion engine.

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Three variants of the Z will be on sale. The entry model is the Coupé, which has a limited to speed of 186mph

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The Spider roadster will be a rival to the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. Think of it as the MG Cyberster EV with monumental power

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The Denza Z is described as an 'everyday supercar'. But the Racing trim (pictured) is fast enough to rearrange your internal organs

An insane amount of power 

True to the supercar label, the Denza Z has silly horsepower.

It produces a staggering 1,583bhp and up to 1,260Nm of torque.

To put that into perspective, it eclipses the power output of the £2million Bugatti Chiron.

Its 8.0-litre quad-turbocharged W16 engine produces 1,479bhp as standard, though its torque figure is higher at 1,600Nm.

Three variants of the Denza Z will be available.

A tamed down Coupé and an open-top Spider. And there's an all-singing, all-dancing Raxing variant too.

Top speed in the Racing version is a mildly terrifying 217mph (with slick tyres fitted), while both the Coupé and Spider versions can reach 186mph.

The carbon-fibre front splitter and rear wing, vents placed across the body and underfloor vortex generators increase the car's length slightly and generate up to 1,060kg of downforce when flat out.

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True to the supercar label, the Denza Z has silly horsepower. It produces a staggering 1,583bhp and up to 1,260Nm of torque across all three versions

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No matter your thoughts about Chinese cars, the Denza Z is a very handsome machine

It might not have much range but it will recharge in no time 

While the Denza Z's range might appear disappointing – especially given BMW, Mercedes and Volvo now make cars capable of travelling more than 500 miles on a single charge – the Chinese brand has a significant trick up its sleeve.

The Blade battery is compatible with BYD's Flash Charging technology.

This enables it to charge from 10 to 97 per cent in just nine minutes and from 10 to 70 per cent in five minutes.

Denza points to this technology as allowing the Z to be an 'electric supercar whose performance can be exploited and enjoyed completely, without concerns over range or how long it will take to recharge'.

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There's an 8.8-inch digital instrument panel and a 12.8-inch infotainment system with Google Built-in, plus suede-effect trim, carbon-fibre accents and ambient lighting 

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The roadster showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this week has a rather questionable cabin in terms of colour spec...

Is BYD's new flash charging luxury EV worth £100k?

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Cabin crammed with tech 

All three versions of the Z have a multi-theme ambient-lighting cabin that reacts to the car's driving modes.

Luxury materials include suede-effect fabrics, carbon fibre and metal finishes, while buyers can choose from 10 interior colour options.

There's also an 8.8-inch digital instrument panel and a 12.8-inch infotainment system with Google Built-in.

Like the Denza Z9GT we drove earlier this year, the Z features a theatre-grade sound system from French audio specialist Devialet. We were blown away by the system in the Z9GT and it's just as impressive in the Z.

It's also worth noting that this EV has a digital rear-view mirror rather than a traditional one.

And it also has two - compact - seats in the rear, making it a genuine four-seater. 

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With a price tag between £142,900 and £172,900, it has ultra-popular sports- and supercars like the Porsche 911 squarely in its sights 

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While the Denza Z's range of around 250 miles might appear disappointing, its Flash Charging battery means you can fully recharge it in just 9 minutes

When can I get one? And how much will I have to pay? 

The Coupé has will be the cheapest option, starting from £142,900. This makes it substantially more than the entry-level 911 Carrera, which kicks off at £105,200.

The Spider comes at a premium of £159,900, which is a big mark-up on the cheapest 911 Cabriolet, which comes in at £115,200. 

And the top-of-the-range Racing is an eye-watering £172,900. That's £13,000 more than a 911 GT3 ($159,700). 

The Denza Z therefore occupies a rare position as an electric supercar that sits within the high-performance bracket rather than the hypercar category, while also avoiding production-run limitations.

The Lotus Evija, for instance, costs around £2million and is limited to just 130 examples.

The Coupé, Spider and Racing versions of the Z will be available to order this summer in selected markets, with first deliveries expected before the end of the year.

CARS & MOTORING: ON TEST