- The Denza Z9 GT has a cool parallel parking party trick.
- Using some EV engineering magic, the car can parallel park in even the tightest of spaces by power braking into place.
- This feature might seem like a gimmick, but it’s a prime example of just how flexible EVs can be.
Parallel parking has always been one of those driving rites of passage. Some folks are naturals, while others—well, let’s just say those are the ones that inevitably sell curb-rashed wheels on Facebook Marketplace. Many modern cars have some kind of auto park feature built in to help, but none do it as cool as the Denza Z9 GT.
Built by a premium arm of Chinese automaker BYD, the Z9 GT is a sleek EV with a 100 kWh battery pack, three electric motors and nearly 1,000 horsepower. It’s also hiding an epic feature up its sleeve: the ability to parallel park. We aren’t talking about the traditional “maybe-it-will, maybe-it-won’t” process of reversing, turning, going forward, turning again, reversing some more, only to settle on a half-assed parking job. This car pulls off a full-fledged Michael Jackson-esque moonwalk right into a free space. Check it out to see what I mean.
Let’s talk about how it works. As mentioned above, the Z9 has three electric motors—one powering the front wheels and two at the rear. And because modern EVs are marvels of software and electrical engineering, those motors can be controlled independently. That’s Denza’s secret sauce.
When it’s time to parallel park, the driver of the Z9 pulls nose-first into an empty space. They can then choose one of the wheels using the car’s infotainment screen and use the car’s exterior cameras to draw a line that tells the car how to pivot into its spot.
Those electric motors get put to work instantly. First, the car’s rear-wheel steering angles its wheels. Then, the motors apply torque in opposing directions to each rear wheel (meaning that the inside and outside wheels rotate in opposite directions to suck the car into its spot). Meanwhile, the car’s front wheels rotate forward to prevent the car from reversing into the vehicle behind it. Finally, the outermost front wheel is locked to provide a pivot point for the vehicle.
Here’s a visual to show exactly how each wheel moves:
Photo by: BYD
We’re certain that drivers who struggle with parallel parking would love this feature, and tire shops are almost certainly giddy with excitement seeing the above video. I’m sure that using the feature in moderation will likely spare the tires, but everyday street parking will eventually take its toll on your rubber.
Still, it’s hard to deny that this is just downright cool. It’s like the grown-up version of power braking, or maybe a scene from the universe’s most boring version of Tokyo Drift where Sung Kang plays a valet instead of Han.
Beyond the Z9 GT’s party trick, its parallel parking prowess outlines one of the coolest things about EVs: flexibility. With electric motors and software doing all of the heavy lifting here, engineers have so much room to design features that simply aren’t feasible (or possible) using ICE powertrains and mechanical gearboxes. Sure, it’s a gimmick now. But it’s also a glimpse into what cars can do, and not just how they drive.
