Denza’s 1,139-HP Wagon Will Now Drift Any Shape You Draw On The Screen
China somehow approved a production car that drifts itself, and the way owners trigger it is stranger than the feature
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by Brad Anderson
The Denza Z9 is blisteringly fast, and as it turns out, a lot of fun.
A recent OTA update added autonomous drifting to the Shooting Brake.
A trio of electric motors allows the Z9 to churn out a combined 1,139 hp.
Right as lines up the Z9 GT for its international launch, the BYD sub-brand has pushed an over-the-air update to owners in China that turns the electric shooting brake into a self-drifting machine. We have no idea how Denza received regulatory approval for the system, but it’s cool as heck.
According to Chinese media, the system is extraordinarily easy to use. Owners simply need to draw a shape on the Z9 GT’s infotainment system, and the car will automatically start to drift in that exact shape, leaving thick circles of rubber on the road. It’s a pretty wild sight to behold, and we’re sure owners will soon start directing their EVs to drift into the most intricate shapes imaginable.
Read: BYD’s Denza GT Costs $40K In China, Someone In France Paid Over $800,000
The Z9 GT has more than enough power to drift, even with all-wheel drive. The sports a large 122.49 kWh battery pack, a 308 hp electric motor at the front axle, and two 416 hp motors at the rear axle, delivering a combined 1,139 hp and 892 lb-ft (1,210 Nm) of torque. Denza also sells the Z9 as a plug-in hybrid, which includes a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder and less-powerful electric motors, although it’s unclear whether it, too, can autonomously drift like the EV.
Perhaps the only way we can think of to improve the system is if it could automatically detect tread wear and, when the tires are worn, order a new set of tires.
BMW Did It First
While this appears to be the first use of an autonomous drift function on a production car, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a car sliding without a driver behind the wheel. At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2014, unveiled a wild M235i Coupe equipped with its own advanced self-driving systems.
Not only could this prototype complete a high-speed slalom by itself and race around a track without any driver inputs, but it could perform high-speed powerslides, perfectly managing and controlling oversteer without the driver needing to touch the pedals or the steering wheel. Likely due to safety concerns, BMW never offered such a system in any of the cars it sells to customers.
