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

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Does anyone really need a car that accelerates faster than a speeding bullet or can do the Kessel run in under 12 par/secs? Of course not, but the allure of cars with super powers has been part of our love affair with the automobile for more than a century. People still talk about the record-setting drive by Sterling Moss and Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes 300 SL at the 1955 Mille Miglia. That achievement thrust Mercedes-Benz into the limelight for decades afterwards. Automakers are always searching for a “halo car,” one that will lure customers into showrooms. For Chevrolet, it is the Corvette. For Ford, it is the Mustang. For Porsche, it is the 911. And for BYD? Well, it really didn’t have a halo car of its own — until now. Meet the Denza Z.

At the Shanghai Auto show this week, BYD introduced the Denza Z and the automotive world may never be the same. Here is a car so svelte and athletic it will inspire lust in the hearts of all who see it. It has the performance of a supercar, the looks of a McLaren or Ferrari, and for a price so low it will be affordable to mere mortals. In other words, this is destined to be a disruptive automobile. Before we burden you with all the specifics and technical jargon, take a moment to enjoy this video below. If a picture is worth a thousand words, it is worth an entire library.

Denza is an upmarket brand under the BYD umbrella. Currently, it has a number of models including the D9, a large multipurpose vehicle, the N7, a midsize SUV, the N9 full size SUV, the Z9 full size sedan, and the Z9 GT, a fastback version of the Z9. And now, of course, there is the stand alone Denza Z, a two seater sports car with two vestigial jumpseats in back for very small persons. The concept unveiled his week in Shanghai is a coupe but according to press reports, a drop top version is planned as well.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but most people will find the Denza Z to be drop dead gorgeous. Car News China claims the car is intended to challenge the mighty Porsche 911 but some will see more than a hint of the long awaited Tesla Roadster 2.0 here as well.. Looks are one thing, but does the Denza Z have the performance chops to match up with the 911, the Corvette, or the supercars from specialty manufacturers like McLaren, Ferrari, and Lamborghini?

Technical details are sketchy for now. Car News China reports the Denza Z will feature BYD’s e3 powertrain that consists of a single electric motor driving the front wheels and two electric motors, one for each rear wheel. This set up eliminates the need for a differential at the rear and gives the car far more control over driving dynamics than any mechanical system ever could. BYD recently announced it had developed an electric motor that can spin at more than 31,000 rpm and apparently the Denza will benefit from that technology.

Denza Z Is Packed With Technology

But that is just the beginning of the technology packed into the concept car. It will be the first BYD product to feature a steer by wire system that eliminates any direct mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. It is controlled by advanced AI algorithms that deliver a smoother, more refined handling experience on regular roads while providing precise and responsive steering on the track, the company says. Because there is no need for a rigid steering column, the Denza Z is equipped with a foldable steering wheel that is said to increase safety by creating extra space during collisions.

Americans insist on calling the devices that control wheel movements “shock absorbers,” but technically they are dampers. Every spring has a natural tendency to oscillate — think of a Slinky being held vertically by one end. Dampers control those oscillations so our cars don’t go bounding down the road like overpriced pogo sticks.

Dampers have two modes, often known as jounce and rebound. Jounce is what happens when a wheel hits a pothole and moves upward suddenly. Rebound is what happens after the wheel reaches the top of its upward travel and starts back down. Over the decades, automotive engineers have struggled to calibrate dampers to function properly under all driving conditions. There are literally hundreds of thousands of permutations that apply to those calculations.

The Denza Z employs what BYD calls its Disus-M system which uses intelligent magnetorheological technology to make adjustments to road conditions in less than 10 milliseconds. BYD says this technology provides enhanced stability and support during high speed cornering an d while driving competitively. Magnetorheologicalis not a word most of us are familiar with, so we turned to Wikipedia for assistance. It says, “A magnetorheological fluid (MR fluid, or MRF) is a type of smart fluid in a carrier fluid, usually a type of oil. When subjected to a magnetic field, the fluid greatly increases its apparent viscosity, to the point of becoming a viscoelastic solid. Importantly, the yield stress of the fluid when in its active (“on”) state can be controlled very accurately by varying the magnetic field intensity.”

This allows how the fluid inside the dampers behaves to be controlled with an electromagnet, which pernits many possible control based applications. Add in the ability to scan the road ahead with cameras to detect turns, bumps, and pavement irregularities, and you end up with a system that can tame any road condition instantaneously. This is very advanced stuff that automotive engineers have been dreaming about for generations. CnEVPost points out that all the geewizardry found on the Denza 9 could find its way to other models from BYD and Denza in the future.

Saving The Best For Last

So, how much will all this goodness cost? BYD has not shared any official prices but the motoring press in China is talking about a car that starts at around 300,000 Yuan — just over $40,000. To put that in perspective, the current version of the Porsche 718, known in the US as the Cayman, sells in China for $89,000, according to AutoEvolution. There may be many versions of the Denza 9 with multiple combinations of battery size, motor output, and technical features, and the odds of the concept car reaching production and selling for less than the price of a Chevy Blazer are quite small. But if something that looks anything like the concept car goes on sale at that price, the automotive world will tilt on its axis and nothing will ever be the same ever again.

Larry Evans treated us recently to his take on BYD and we look forward to more articles by him. Tu Le, founder and managing director of Sino Auto Insights told CNN in a recent interview that “BYD only knows how to play offense. Their consistent and frequent vehicle and feature launches keep their competitors on their heels, while their lowest in class cost structure lets them price their products much more aggressively.”

At CleanTechnica, we never offer investment advice,  mostly because we are wrong 99.7 percent of the time. That being said, I have sold my Tesla shares and bought shares in BYD. Let’s compare notes 5 years from now to see whether that was a smart move or another in a long line of boneheaded investment decisions on my part. Note to executive editor Zachary Shahan — get one of these cars from BYD/Denza and let me drive it for a year. I promise, if you do, it will give you and our readers a full written report!