The Denza Z wants to take on Europe’s best supercars, but this brief encounter left a few questions unanswered.
When the topic is truly exceptional performance cars, names such as the Porsche 911 Turbo, Corvette Z06 or the Ferrari 12Cilindri are almost mandatory. Very few people would think to add a Chinese car to that exclusive shortlist.
Denza, the BYD Group’s premium brand, is aiming to change that and shake up a segment that has been dominated for decades by European and North American makers-especially in Europe, where heritage and badge prestige still weigh heavily in purchasing decisions.
Chinese brands may not always show much imagination when it comes to naming-after all, the last letter of the alphabet has long been associated with a Nissan sports car. But ambition and headline figures are not in short supply with the Denza Z: 1604 hp, 1240 Nm, and a claimed 0–100 km/h time of 2.25 seconds.
For now, Denza remains all but unknown to many potential buyers in this rarefied corner of the market. In simple terms, it wants to be to BYD what Lexus is to Toyota or Genesis is to Hyundai: a more exclusive marque, with distinctive styling, luxurious interiors, standout performance-and prices to match.
More for less
Low, sleek and purposeful, the Denza Z is set to be offered as a coupé, a convertible, and an even more hard-core Racing version. The entry-level model is expected to cost slightly under €160,000-an eye-watering number in absolute terms, yet noticeably lower than several European rivals offering comparable performance.
A Porsche Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach package costs roughly €80,000 more and delivers around 500 hp less. On the other hand, it brings a stronger brand image, higher overall quality, and a level of dynamic polish the Denza still needs to prove it can match.
As an electric car, the Z also has a major talking point: a 76 kWh battery designed to take advantage of BYD’s Flash Charging ultra-rapid charging system.
In ideal conditions and on a compatible charger, the brand claims a peak of 1500 kW-enough, it says, to charge in about nine minutes. What remains unclear is when this infrastructure will actually appear in Europe, and how long the car can sustain charging power anywhere near that figure.
To get an initial feel for the Denza Z, we headed to the Goodwood circuit in the south of England, alongside this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed. Not for a full test, but for three laps of its 3,860-metre layout-just over 10 kilometres in total.
Helmet on, belt tight, and a Denza engineer in the passenger seat to keep any exuberance in check. Time to go.
Before you ‘turn the key’
Before pulling away, there was time to take in the cabin. The front seats are comfortable, and good-quality leather covers much of the interior. Build quality feels solid, even if a few plastics seem out of place in a car that wants to take on Porsche, McLaren or Lamborghini.
The screens, too, feel overly ordinary. They could be lifted straight from a BYD Dolphin without raising eyebrows, which does little to create the sense of exclusivity you expect in a supercar at this price point.
The interior is essentially a two-seater. The rear seats are mainly useful for extra luggage or, at a stretch, children on short trips. There’s adequate room for a driver and front passenger up to 1.90 m, but even though I’m shorter than that, settling into the Z with a helmet on was not straightforward.
Horses on a leash
There were plenty of constraints on this first dynamic taste. Boost mode was unavailable, stability control had to stay fully on, and power delivery was intentionally softened and progressive. The outcome was a slight anti-climax: I didn’t experience the ballistic, almost unreal surge I’ve felt in other electric cars with more than 1,000 hp.
A later, more comprehensive test will need to confirm whether what the Z promises on paper truly translates to the road-and on paper it promises a lot.
There are two motors on the rear axle, each producing 340 kW (462 hp), plus a third motor on the front axle with 500 kW (680 hp). Combined output is 1180 kW (1604 hp), while peak torque reaches 1240 Nm. And this is only the entry-level version.
Denza quotes 2.25 seconds for 0–100 km/h and a top speed of 300 km/h. We couldn’t get anywhere near that, both because the circuit’s straights are especially short for a car with this much power and because the test engineer kept a tight rein on proceedings.
Top speed is electronically limited to manage energy use and battery temperature. With just 76 kWh-modest capacity for a car with these performance claims-it has been possible to keep weight close to 2.2 tonnes.
The carbon-ceramic brakes, with six-piston calipers up front and four-piston calipers at the rear, need some heat before they deliver their best, but once up to temperature they provide the stopping power and fade resistance you’d expect.
The seats, however, could offer more lateral support. The steering would also benefit from richer feedback, particularly when some of its rivals feature the most precise and communicative steering systems in the industry.
With every electronic aid switched on, entering a corner a touch too fast triggers a clear stability-control intervention, cutting power delivery and curbing agility. Even so, you can sense that the rear wheels are doing more of the pushing than the front wheels are doing the pulling, which helps the Z rotate in corners and gives it a less neutral balance.
Potential still locked away
Several features were disabled on this pre-production car. That included the red Boost button to the right of the steering wheel, and Track Mode on the opposite side.
According to Denza’s engineers, Boost makes throttle response 30% more aggressive for 20 seconds. When it’s engaged, the instrument display and central screen switch to a different layout to reflect the extra performance.
The paddles behind the steering wheel were also not working; these are intended to simulate gearshifts. That’s a shame, as they could make the driving experience feel more involving, especially on track.
Sophisticated suspension
The Z also introduces the DiSus-M intelligent damping system, linked to the e3 platform. The dampers use a magnetorheological fluid whose viscosity can be changed in milliseconds via a magnetic field, enabling near-instant adjustments during both compression and rebound.
Ride comfort is impressive for a supercar and suggests some ability to cope with rougher surfaces than Goodwood’s near-perfect tarmac. The suspension is independent all round, with double wishbones at the front and a multi-link arrangement at the rear. It also features air springs and variable damping.
For those who find 1604 hp insufficient, Denza is preparing the Racing version. With dedicated tyres, top speed rises to 350 km/h and 0–100 km/h is expected to take less than two seconds. It also gains a huge rear wing, while the air springs are replaced by coil springs to improve stability at very high speeds.
Not expensive… for what it offers
Denza has not yet confirmed the Z’s final European pricing, but early estimates suggest a figure slightly below €160,000. If that holds, it would sit well beneath the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT’s price of more than €250,000, despite the Porsche offering 1034 hp.
The gap grows further when you consider the 911 Turbo S, as the Denza could come in at under half of the more than €324,000 being asked in Portugal. Yes, it’s petrol-powered, but it is also the benchmark at this level-and the one that is closest in concept to the Denza Z.
Of course, price (less than half), power (more than double) and acceleration don’t tell the whole story. Denza still needs to show it can get close to Porsche levels of dynamic precision, overall quality and brand cachet.
Even so, at under €160,000, it would be hard to label it expensive for what it claims to deliver. Orders are expected to open in some European markets during 2026, with first deliveries planned before the end of the year, although arrival in Portugal has not yet been confirmed.
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