India, Nov. 8 -- Abu Dhabi temporarily closed a 10-kilometre stretch of a major desert highway to regular traffic to allow Chinese carmaker BYD to attempt a world speed record. Its electric hypercar, the Yangwang U9 Xtreme, eventually clocked 503.17 kmph, becoming the first production car to cross the 500 kmph barrier in a verified single-direction run.

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The record was set on November 1 on Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed International Road (E11) in Abu Dhabi's Al Dhafra region, with German racing driver Marc Basseng behind the wheel.

According to an official statement by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the achievement ...