Battery size: 76 kWh
WLTP range: 236 - 255 miles (est) 
Real-world range (est): 180 - 210 miles
Charging speed: 1,500 kW
Model history and introduction
Although the Denza name will be new for most, BYD’s sporting offshoot has actually been in existence for 16 years. Founded initially as a 50:50 joint venture between BYD and Daimler – the parent company of Mercedes – BYD reverted to being sole owner in 2022 when Daimler restructured its operations. Okay, that’s the boring background bit covered in case it comes up in a pub quiz.
BYD describes Denza as a premium, technology-focused brand, and sits alongside Yangwang as a BYD sub-brand. The Z is the first Denza-badged model to come to the European market, and is likely to be followed by a range of other models. While the Z is new to us, a version of it has been on sale in China for a couple of years, marketed as the Z9.
The Euro-spec Z has been extensively reworked for the European market with Denza targeting the end of 2026 for first deliveries - just after the Z9GT sports saloon. The Z will launch no fewer than four versions: Coupe, Spider (convertible), Racing, and a track-focused Special Edition aimed at breaking Nürburgring Nordschleife lap records later in the year.
Range, battery and charging
The Denza Z uses a surprisingly modest 76kWh battery pack that uses LFP chemistry and BYD’s clever blade design. Although that’s a good deal smaller than the 122kWh pack that lives under the new Ferrari Luce or the 105kWh battery that powers the Porsche Taycan Turbo, it’s lighter and more durable thanks to its LFP construction.
As with other models in the BYD stable, the Z’s battery is integrated directly into the chassis rather than in a separate frame. This Cell-to-Body construction saves weight (no frame) and means that it can be packaged more efficiently. Which, in a low-slung sports car, is a pretty good thing to do.
The Z’s party trick is Flash Charging, which allows drivers to recharge their car at ridiculously fast speeds. If you thought the Porsche Taycan’s peak DC charging rate of 320kW was impressive, BYD’s new 1,500kW (or 1.5 Megawatt) system blows it out of the water. The figures – which we’re inclined to believe having witnessed Flash Charging in action in the UK last month – are remarkable. Drivers can expect a 10-70% charge in just five minutes and a 10-97% charge in only nine minutes. That’s gamechanging stuff and takes away one of the main reasons why drivers are reluctant to switch from petrol to electric.
The snag? As you may have guessed, Flash Charging stations aren’t exactly on every street corner. That said, BYD intends to have around 300 BYD Flash Charging stations across the UK by the end of 2026, and some 3,000 across mainland Europe.
The battery pack in the Z has been designed to handle the onslaught of electrons that Flash Charging delivers. Innovations include a new "FlashPass" ion transport system (covering cathode, electrolyte, and anode design) that cuts internal resistance and heat.
It’s also passed BYD’s borderline sadistic nail-penetration test with no thermal runaway after 500 fast-charge cycles. BYD also claims that the second-generation blade battery has a 2.5% reduction in capacity degradation versus the original Blade design.
Oh, and it also comes with Vehicle to Load (V2L) as standard - just in case you want to use a supercar to power a set of hedge trimmers or a toaster.
As for efficiency and range, well, that’s slightly harder to deliver real-world figures on. Of the three versions Denza has confirmed WLTP data for, the Coupe has the longest range at 255 miles while the Spider has 249 and the Racing 236 miles. Which sounds about right for a 76kWh battery, but seems somewhat underwhelming if you’re looking at the Z as a cross-continent GT car. Use the power to its full and you’ll be looking at well under 200 miles of real-world range.
Practicality and boot space
Okay, no surprises here: the Z isn’t the most practical car in the world. The layout is what the car world calls 2+2, which loosely translates as ‘big enough for two front seat passengers and a couple of teddy bears behind’. Technically, there are four areas to sit (and four seat belts), and Denza claims the Z to be a ‘genuine four-seater’ but the rear pair are for emergency use only.
That said, the boot capacity is reasonable at 250 litres, and if you opt for the Coupe or the Racing, the rear seat backs fold down to free up 550 litres of space, which is plenty big enough for a couple of lazily packed overnight bags or even a set of golf clubs if that’s your thing. If you do need to carry anything more than a takeaway back, you can probably strike the soft-top Spider off your list because the boot only holds between 131 and 176 litres.
Interior and exterior design
You can’t launch a car these days without having some kind of overarching design philosophy that keeps the marketing folk in work. The Z’s design follows Denza’s ‘Technology Drives Elegance’ philosophy, which, apparently, is immediately obvious in its front air intake, which feeds the airflow over the bonnet.
To my eyes, it’s just a lovely, unusually coherent piece of design. BYD has been guilty of making its designs a little too fussy, but the Z isn’t. Penned under the design direction of Wolfgang Egger (ex Lamborghini, Audi and Alfa Romeo), it’s smooth, nicely proportioned and just looks like a sports car should. It’s perhaps a little too generic and simple in places, but overall, it’s a striking package.
Inside, the Z ticks all the right boxes. Like the exterior, it strikes a good balance between form and function. There’s no plastic swoopiness for the sake of it, no Atto 3-like guitar strings on the door pockets. What you do get is a proper supercar interior with some lovely, high-end materials and a snug-but-not-cramped feel. Almost every surface is swathed in carbon fibre, suede-effect fabric or real metal. And, praise be, Denza is planning to offer the Z with no fewer than ten colour choices.
Tech features include an 8.88-inch digital instrument cluster ahead of the steering wheel and a 12.8-inch infotainment screen with Google built-in. There’s also a digital rear-view mirror, wireless phone charging, and a Devialet audio system with a spherical central speaker module.
The motorsport-inspired steering wheel is a lovely thing to wrap your hands around and houses six physical buttons for functions like Track and Boost modes. The latter adds 30% throttle torque for 20 seconds, while Track mode unlocks lap-timing data logging, launch control, and adjustable drift settings. Yes, it’s a bit busy, and half the controls could easily be located somewhere more sensible, but if you’re looking to channel your inner Kimi Antonelli on every journey, it’s great fun.
The seats offer 8-way power adjustment, ventilation, heating, and massage, plus headrest-integrated speakers. The Coupe and Spider add active lateral bolster support for cornering, giving you a welcome shove in the kidneys when you enter a corner at speed. Sounds horrible, but actually works surprisingly well.
The Racing variant adds a carbon-fibre front splitter, underfloor vortex generators, and an optional adjustable carbon rear wing, which, according to Denza, generates up to 1,060kg of downforce at 217 mph. If just over a tonne of downforce simply isn’t enough for you, the Special Edition pushes this further with a drag-reduction system and over 2,000kg of downforce at 186 mph. Ridiculous.
Motors, performance, and handling
Here’s where the numbers start to get a little crazy, so you might want to sit down first. All three versions of the Z feature a triple-motor setup with one at the front and two at the rear. Combined, the Z’s three motors deliver a combined 1,582hp and 1,240Nm of torque across all versions.
Performance is best described as savage. The ‘slowest’ of three is the Spider, which takes just 2.3 seconds to hit 62 mph from rest. The Coupe and Racing manage the same feat a quarter of a second quicker. And if that’s not fast enough for you, Denza will sell you a set of optional semi-slick tyres that pull the 0-62 mph time down to 1.96 seconds.
And, just to prove that the world has truly gone insane, the Special Edition variant comes with a power boost that takes the total output to just under 2,000hp. This, according to Denza, is enough to guarantee a 0-62 mph time of under 1.7 seconds.
Key chassis technology includes what Denza calls ‘DiSus-M magnetorheological damping’. In plain English, that translates to an adaptive suspension system that uses a special magnetically controlled fluid in the shock absorbers to instantly adjust stiffness. This, in theory, improves both ride comfort and high-performance handling. The Z also features a new Vehicle Motion Control (VMC) system with 10-millisecond response times.
The Z’s three motors give it another party trick: Compass Turn. Because all three motors can be controlled individually, the Z can effectively rotate around a tight point. This reduces the turning circle dramatically, but obviously comes at the expense of some extra tyre wear as the rubber drags diagonally across the road surface.
Finally, to make sure that the Z stops as effectively as it accelerates, all versions are fitted with carbon-ceramic drilled brake discs (6-piston front, 4-piston rear), which save roughly 30kg of unsprung mass versus conventional discs.
Pricing
At the time of writing, which is at the car’s public debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we know very little about the Z’s price in the UK. All we know is that Denza has confirmed that the range will consist of Coupe, Spider, and Racing versions and that order books will open this summer. If I were to predict a price tag, I’d suggest somewhere in the region of £120,000 for the entry-level Coupe sounds about right. That would dramatically undercut the new Ferrari Luce and would make it look spectacular value against cars like the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore, which starts at just over £120,000 yet delivers half the performance or tech.
Verdict
As a feat of engineering, the Denza Z is remarkable. If one of the established European supercar brands were unveiling a car with the Z’s specification, it would be hailed as the most advanced sports car ever. The performance is astonishing, as is the charging tech, which really does qualify as being game-changing. The only downside is the range, which at less than 200 miles in the real world, seems very low. Even if Flash Charging was everywhere, that would still be a low figure – especially on a car that many will want to use on long road trips.
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