Call 911, Porsche is in trouble! New BYD Denza Z is designed to beat the 911 Turbo in a straight line and on-track

May 2, 2025May 2, 2025 John Mahoney 1208 Views 1 Comment BYD, Denza Z, Porsche 911

BYD’s Denza has unwrapped a close-to-production concept for an all-new battery-powered four-seat sports car called the 2025 Denza Z that has one mission: steal sales from the legendary Porsche 911.

With its low, sporty stance, aggressive front splitter, extended side skirts, huge rear spoiler and large diffuser, the sleek two-door Denza Z will be offered as both a coupe and convertible.

Both will come with advanced aerodynamics designed to keep the Denza Z stable at high speed without sapping range.

Looking distinctly Porsche 911-sized, other design notables include frameless doors and hidden door handles, although they might be added to a production version.

In the cabin, a pair of full carbon-fibre bucket seats wrapped in fake suede and leather hold the driver and passenger in place, while a four-point harness screams its track intention.

Ahead of the driver is a digital instrument cluster and the usual free-standing touchscreen. There’s also a floating centre console that houses the gear shifter and more switchgear.

As well as the expected safety kit, Denza says in the event of an accident the squared-off steering wheel folds during an impact, reducing the risk of leg injuries in a collision.

Showcasing BYD’s latest tech, the Denza Z gets both the car giant’s latest steer-by-wire steering system that’s claimed to provide smoother more refined handling on road, while adding greater precision and steering responses on-track.

Other new tech includes the addition of BYD’s latest Disis-M active suspension that is claimed to be “the industry’s first intelligent magnetorheological body control system exclusively for new energy vehicles”.

Capable of scanning the road ahead and reacting to changes in road surfaces in less than 10 milliseconds, Disus-M could be the key piece of tech to allow the Z to beat the 911 on-track when it comes to stability and high-speed cornering.

In a straight line the Porsche also won’t see which way the Denza Z went.

Tipped to be capable of a sub-two second 0-100km/h spring, the flagship coupe is expected to come with a 1000kW triple-motor powertrain.

When it arrives the Denza Z should almost be among the fastest EVs ever to charge, as it’s rumoured to get BYD’s next-gen 1000-volt electrical system.

As well as being quicker and potentially faster around a race track, the Denza Z is set to be incredible value.

While the most basic 911 Carrera Coupe costs $280,500 plus on-roads, the production Denza 7 is expected to be priced from just 300,000 yuan ($A65,000) in China – obviously that would rise if it came to Australia.

Neither BYD or Denza have provided any hint of when we may see the new Z coupe and convertible, but the world’s biggest EV and hybrid maker has confirmed its new premium brand will launch locally later this year.

Originally Denza began back in 2010 as a BYD-Mercedes joint venture before Benz’s share was bought out by its Chinese business partner, which snapped up the final 10 per cent share in 2024.