What you need to know
- Four-figure horsepower is no longer rare. A 1,548-hp Xiaomi sedan launched at 529,900 yuan, and BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme makes more than 3,000 PS.
- The makers with the most pricing power are now selling sound, touch, weight and craftsmanship instead of peak output.
- More than 70% of Pagani Utopia buyers chose the manual gearbox, and Porsche says 80% of US 911 GT3 touring buyers did the same.
- Ferrari’s 2030 plan keeps 80% of its line-up combustion or hybrid, and Lamborghini has shelved its first all-electric car.
- ECN’s take: horsepower is now the entry fee. What buyers actually pay for is how the car makes them feel.
The supercar horsepower war should have ended with a record like this one. In September 2025, an electric hypercar with more than 3,000 PS ran 496.22 km/h at a test track in northern Germany. BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme became, by its maker’s measure, the fastest production car in the world. Its test driver, Marc Basseng, said a run like that “is not possible with a combustion engine.”
He may be right, but it matters less than it would have ten years ago. While the spec sheets kept climbing, the part of the market that buys the most expensive cars moved on to something else. The makers with real pricing power now talk about sound, gearboxes, weight and craftsmanship. Horsepower hasn’t lost its appeal. It has just stopped being rare.
When 1,500 horsepower comes in a sedan, the number stops meaning much
For most of supercar history, horsepower was the easiest way to show where a car ranked, and the supercar horsepower war was fought one headline figure at a time. The McLaren F1, the Veyron and the Chiron were each defined by one big figure, and that figure had to be paid for. That pricing link is now gone.
Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra is a four-door electric sedan with 1,548 hp from three motors. It launched in China at 529,900 yuan. Rimac’s Nevera R makes 2,107 hp and costs £2.3 million. BYD’s U9 Xtreme passes 3,000 PS. Batteries and electric motors have made huge output cheap to produce, and the car that makes the most power is no longer necessarily the car people want most.
ECN: The Numbers — what one horsepower costs
- Xiaomi SU7 Ultra: 529,900 yuan ÷ 1,548 hp ≈ 342 yuan per hp (roughly $48)
- Rimac Nevera R: £2.3 million ÷ 2,107 hp ≈ £1,092 per hp
- Bugatti Tourbillon: €3.8 million ÷ 1,800 hp ≈ €2,111 per hp
- Ferrari F80: about $3.9 million ÷ 1,184 hp ≈ $3,294 per hp
Each horsepower in an F80 costs roughly 70 times as much as one in the Xiaomi. The F80 still sold out, so buyers are clearly not paying for power. List prices are base or approximate figures in each maker’s home currency. The yuan conversion is approximate.
There is also a limit on the road. Beyond roughly a thousand horsepower, tires, traction and the driver’s own nerve decide how quickly a car can move, not the engine. Extra power shows up on a spec sheet and a drag strip, not on a mountain road. Serious buyers seem to have noticed.
Where the fight moved
The most exclusive cars of 2025 and 2026 are competing on four things that a bigger battery can’t easily provide.
1. Sound
Ferrari’s 12Cilindri keeps a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 making 830 cv. The Bugatti Tourbillon pairs its electric motors with a naturally aspirated 8.3-liter V16, developed with Cosworth, that revs to 9,000 rpm. Neither engine is the easiest way to make power. Both are there for the noise they make.
Even the electric side accepts that sound matters. Ferrari’s first EV, the 1,035-hp Luce revealed in May 2026, amplifies the drivetrain’s own mechanical noise according to the selected driving mode instead of playing back a recorded engine. At the other end of the market, Hyundai gave the Ioniq 5 N simulated gearshifts and engine sound, which it says gives drivers “an acoustic reference to gauge the power being utilised.” When a mainstream EV maker adds a fake shift, it is conceding that performance is also about what the driver feels.
2. Touch
The clearest evidence comes from the order books. Pagani commercial director Hannes Zanon said more than 70% of Utopia clients had chosen the manual gearbox on a car with 864 hp. Porsche Cars North America CEO Timo Resch said 80% of 911 GT3 touring customers pick the manual, and cited that take rate as a reason to bring a manual back to the Carrera S. Neither figure has anything to do with lap times. A manual is slower. Buyers are choosing it anyway.
Koenigsegg took that further this summer. The Koenigsegg CCGT1 makes 1,280 hp on pump fuel and 1,600 hp on E85, and Koenigsegg lists its Engage Shift System, a gated six-speed manual with a clutch pedal, as an option. All 70 cars were allocated before the reveal. A company that can build a 1,600-hp car also chose to give its buyers an open metal gate. That tells you where Koenigsegg thinks the value is. We tracked the wider trend in our look at the manual supercars of 2026.
3. Lightness
The Gordon Murray T.50 makes 663 PS, about half an F80’s output. It weighs 997 kg, revs to 12,100 rpm and uses only a six-speed manual. That works out to around 1.5 kg per PS, and the T.50 is widely treated as one of the defining analog cars of this era. Gordon Murray Automotive says the engine “represents at least half of the driving experience,” which is a measure no spec-sheet race captures.
Weight is also bringing engines back. Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe has said in a recent interview that a new V8 arrives at the end of 2026, first in an SUV. He argued that batteries add “a lot of weight” and that for a light car it is sometimes best to have a V8-only car. The current C 63’s four-cylinder plug-in hybrid is being replaced by a six-cylinder C 53, not a V8, so the argument has limits. But the direction is clear, and it echoes Formula 1’s own proposed return to V8 power for 2030.
4. Craftsmanship
The Tourbillon has 1,800 hp, yet Bugatti gave its instrument cluster star billing at launch. Swiss watchmakers built it from more than 600 components, including titanium, sapphire and ruby. It weighs 700 grams and sits on a fixed-hub steering wheel. Mate Rimac, whose name is now on Bugatti’s ownership, said the team imagined the car on concours lawns “perhaps in 100 years.” That is why the Tourbillon uses analog instruments instead of screens that date quickly. It is a long-term strategy for keeping value, and power has little to do with it.
The makers are saying it themselves
Ferrari’s own strategy documents make the case. At its October 2025 Capital Markets Day, the company said its 2030 sports-car line-up would be about 40% combustion, 40% hybrid and 20% electric. That is far less electric than earlier industry expectations. It described the goal plainly: each car “is designed to stir emotions, to offer exceptional driving thrills, to engage and delight.” Power isn’t mentioned. The pitch is about feeling.
Each of our cars is designed to stir emotions, to offer exceptional driving thrills, to engage and delight.
Ferrari, Capital Markets Day 2030 Strategic Plan
Lamborghini went further. It shelved the Lanzador as a full electric car, now plans it as a plug-in hybrid, and has pushed its first EV past 2030. CEO Stephan Winkelmann has said customer interest in an electric Lamborghini is “close to zero.” He called heavy EV investment before the market is ready “an expensive hobby.” Every car in Lamborghini’s current range is a hybrid, yet the headline feature of the Temerario is still a twin-turbo V8 that revs to 10,000 rpm.
At a glance: the power leaders vs. the emotion leaders
| Car | Output | What it is really selling |
|---|---|---|
| Yangwang U9 Xtreme | 3,000+ PS | A 496.22 km/h top-speed record |
| Rimac Nevera R | 2,107 hp | Acceleration (0–60 mph claimed in 1.74 s) |
| Bugatti Tourbillon | 1,800 hp | A naturally aspirated V16 and a watchmaker’s instrument cluster |
| Koenigsegg CCGT1 | 1,280 hp (1,600 hp on E85) | An optional gated six-speed manual |
| Ferrari F80 | 1,200 cv (1,184 hp) | Le Mans-derived hybrid V6, 799 cars |
| Ferrari 12Cilindri | 830 cv (819 hp) | A naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 |
| Gordon Murray T.50 | 663 PS | 997 kg, 12,100 rpm and a six-speed manual |
The case against this argument
To be fair, horsepower still sells. The U9 Xtreme, the Nevera R and the SU7 Ultra all use their numbers as the main pitch, and each has attracted real buyers and a lot of attention. Ferrari’s own EV still makes 1,035 hp, and every car in this story is enormously powerful. No one is winning buyers with less performance.
There is also a more skeptical reading. “Emotion” is hard to measure, which also makes it hard to argue with on price. A spec sheet can be compared across brands, but a feeling can’t. For makers that sell a few hundred cars a year at seven figures, moving the conversation away from numbers that a Chinese sedan can match is good business as well as good engineering. Both readings can be true at once.
Why it matters
For buyers and collectors, the practical lesson of the supercar horsepower war is that peak output is becoming a poor guide to long-term desirability. When huge power is cheap to build, a car that is merely more powerful than the last one can be matched quickly, often by a cheaper electric car. What is harder to copy is a naturally aspirated V12, an open-gated manual, a 997-kg chassis or a watchmaker’s dashboard. Those are the features the most exclusive makers are putting at the center of their newest cars. ECN will watch whether the collector market rewards them over time.
The shift extends beyond one or two brands. We have been following it through the analog comeback for most of this year. Electric performance is also moving into other classes, as our electric super-SUV showdown shows.
What’s next
Three dates will test the argument. Customer deliveries of Ferrari’s electric Luce are due to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026, which will show whether “authentic” electric sound persuades Ferrari buyers. AMG says its new V8 arrives around the end of 2026. Lamborghini’s plug-in hybrid Lanzador is due by the end of the decade. Meanwhile, expect the electric record-setters to keep pushing the numbers higher. The question is whether buyers at the top of the market will still be paying attention.
Images: Exotic Car News. The vehicle and cabin images in this story, including the lead image, are editorial illustrations, not manufacturer, press or event photography.
Frequently asked questions
Is the supercar horsepower war really over?
Not on paper. Power figures keep climbing, led by electric hypercars such as the 3,000-plus-PS Yangwang U9 Xtreme. What’s over is horsepower as the main way to stand out at the top of the market. A 1,548-hp Xiaomi sedan costs a fraction of a Ferrari, so the most exclusive makers now compete on sound, gearboxes, weight and craftsmanship.
Why are buyers choosing manual transmissions in supercars again?
Because a manual gives the driver something to do. Pagani says more than 70% of Utopia customers chose the manual, and Porsche Cars North America says 80% of 911 GT3 touring buyers did too. Koenigsegg now offers a gated six-speed manual on the 1,280-hp CCGT1.
What is the Yangwang U9 Xtreme?
It is a limited-production electric hypercar from BYD’s luxury brand Yangwang, rated at more than 3,000 PS. It ran 496.22 km/h at the ATP Papenburg test track in Germany in September 2025, which BYD calls a production-car record. No more than 30 will be built.
Is Ferrari still building combustion-engine cars?
Yes. At its October 2025 Capital Markets Day, Ferrari said it expects its 2030 sports-car line-up to be about 40% combustion, 40% hybrid and 20% electric. Its first EV, the 1,035-hp Luce, amplifies real drivetrain noise instead of playing back a fake engine sound.
Did Lamborghini cancel its electric car?
Lamborghini has shelved the Lanzador as a full EV. It now plans the model as a plug-in hybrid, and it has pushed its first all-electric car past 2030. CEO Stephan Winkelmann has called heavy EV investment before customers are ready “an expensive hobby.”
Why do cars like the Gordon Murray T.50 have less power than rivals?
Because the T.50 is built around weight and response rather than peak output. It makes 663 PS but weighs 997 kg, revs to 12,100 rpm and uses a six-speed manual. Gordon Murray Automotive calls the engine at least half of the driving experience.
