Two Saturdays ago an email hit my inbox bearing news that the Bugatti Chiron’s production-car speed record was toast. The second noteworthy detail in said email was the company that had done the toasting. It wasn’t any of the usual suspects, who tend to pass the trophy among themselves, but BYD’s luxury arm Yangwang. What business does the subsidiary of a Chinese car conglomerate famous for vertically integrated efficiencies in EV manufacturing have in smashing the most prestigious road car record around? It will build 30 examples of the U9X, so this wasn’t just a mad one-off held together with liability waivers.