BYD Group continues to churn out premium entities faster than rabbits do in the spring. After the FangChengBao brand—dubbed a response to European luxury—took off with the Bao 5 SUV, the company decided to play the role of a large Italian family. Meet the Formula S and Formula S GT—two vehicles that look like the result of an engineering debate in a smoke-filled room.
The essence of the drama is insultingly simple. They share the same DNA: BYD’s e⁴ electric platform. This means the same high-voltage heart beats beneath their carbon fiber bodies. But the marketers forced the designers to give them different destinies.

The Formula S is a rigid five-door liftback for those who need to transport their mother-in-law to the dacha but still want to look like Tony Stark.

The Formula S GT is a low-slung, aggressive coupe, designed solely to catch the eyes of girls outside the mall and scratch the belly of speed bumps.

Technically, both machines are absolute beasts. At their core, they are rear-wheel-drive monsters packing well over 500 horsepower, and the top-tier versions transition to all-wheel drive, delivering a collective output comparable to a hypercar. Acceleration to 60 mph takes the time it takes an average-aged person to gasp. The stated range is enough to drive from Moscow to St. Petersburg, even if you have to sit in traffic with the maximum air conditioning running.

Inside, it’s a typical high-level Chinese cyberpunk experience. There is almost no steering wheel—only a transforming control yoke. Screens dominate all free space, even the passenger area, which can now be used for watching movies while the driver tries not to crash into a pillar while distracted by the dashboard. The quality of the materials makes one nervously smoke in the corner of a Mercedes-Benz: the leather is so soft you’re afraid to leave a fingerprint.

Prices in China have skyrocketed, now comparable to Porsche. And looking at these two droplets of molten metal, you understand one thing: China’s expansion is no longer about dumping. It is now pure, unadulterated luxury that has arrived to empty the wallets of Europe, using their own weapons—design and technology.