The new all-electric London bus has active suspension, a 532kWh battery and over 400bhp

Rear-wheel drive, 402bhp and 443lb ft of torque. No, it’s not a new supercar, it’s the BYD BD11 double-decker bus.

BYD says this new all-electric bus has been specifically designed for London and will apparently enter service later this year as it replaces the Routemaster. It gets a giant 532kWh battery too (although just 457kWh is usable), giving it a real-world range of over 400 miles.

Don’t think it’ll take a week to charge as a result, though – a charging capability of 500kW means you could top up the fancy ‘Blade Battery’ from 0 to 100 per cent in just two hours. Two motors on the rear axle provide that headline power figure, and there’s active air suspension to allow the driver to adjust based on how busy the bus is.

The BD11 can take up to 90 passengers, and – unlike when the New Routemaster first arrived – there are opening windows on the top deck so that we don’t all cook in the summer.

The bus itself is 10.9m long and 2.55m wide, with active safety tech including a Forward Collision Warning system, Blind Spot Monitoring and a Driver Drowsiness and Attention Warning.

“BYD is committed to technological innovation and spearheading the global transition towards eco-conscious public transportation,” said Frank Thorpe, boss of BYD UK Commercial Vehicles. “The BYD BD11 will play a pivotal role in contributing to the reduction of air pollution in London and, soon after, the UK’s wider carbon neutrality goals.”

Yep, you’ll see this rather blocky beast in London soon before a ‘provincial model’ makes its way across the rest of the UK.