YANGWANG U8

The maker of the Seal and the Dolphin produces a car that can actually swim

- ILLYA VERPRAET

TESTED 13.3.24, GOODWOOD MOTOR CIRCUIT ON SALE NOW (CHINA)

Don't you hate it when you take a wrong turn on the way to the office and end up in a lake? Clothes are ruined, the car's wrecked, and people fishing get cross. Well, the Yangwang U8 is here to help, because it can float for 30 minutes and even motor itself out by spinning the wheels. Allegedly.

A Yang what now? Yangwang is the prestige brand of BYD, and although there are no official plans to sell it in the UK yet, the firm's executives are strongly considering it, and the fact that they're showing the U8 to a bunch of UK journalists does say something.

Yangwang isn't pronounced the way you might expect it to be, by the way. The 'ang' bits sound more like the 'aww' you might say to a cute kitten. Still, if you ask representatives whether they will actually call it that if it comes to Europe, the reaction varies from "we're thinking about it" to "probably not". It means something along the lines of 'to look up at the stars', but I don't think they are particularly attached to the name, given the brand was only launched a year ago in China.

The U8 is not a cute kitten, looking more like a cross between a Land Rover Defender and the Kia EV9's evil twin. What it is instead is a collection of all the gimmicks your heart could possibly desire.

Aside from being semiamphibious (the U8 does it in emergencies only and needs to be checked over by a workshop after any swim), it can do tank turns, has active hydraulic suspension and its armrest cubby can be set to temperatures of between 60deg C and -5deg C.