Hyderabad: The year 2025 kicked off with a video from BYD that took the internet by storm as the Chinese automaker showcased its Yangwang U9 electric supercar that can leap over obstacles. Using BYD’s advanced suspension system DiSus-X, the supercar jumped over a 6-metre pothole, a cluster of spikes, and a patch of colours.
The video started a global sensation, and users in India cracked hilarious jokes with some even calling it “tailor-made for India’s bumpy, pothole-ridden roads”. While the majority were in awe of the capabilities of BYD’s new suspension system, some industry veterans and car enthusiasts felt a sense of deja vu, which was actually a memory from 20 years ago when Bose built a jumping Lexus.
Yes, the company best known for making high-end speakers and noise-cancelling headphones, made an advanced electromagnetic proactive suspension system in 2004 that could do the exact same thing as BYD today. It used some of the similar tech found in its speakers and fitted a Lexus with advanced electromagnetic motors driven by electric power amplifiers and switches.
Starting as a passion project of company founder Amar Bose in the 1980s, the Project Sound took 24 years to deliver what was arguably the world’s most advanced suspension system back in the day. The ability to jump over obstacles was just a showcase of suspension’s strength, while its real use was to keep the car flat. Bose in 2004 demonstrated its suspension’s ability to eliminate body roll during cornering and keep the car (Lexus LS400) completely stable even when driving over undulations or when the vehicle’s wheels were rocked violently.
So, the question is: What happened to the advanced suspension system that had the potential to revolutionise the auto industry years ago—one that the industry has only now managed to replicate?
Short answer: Engineering practicality and commercial viability!
While Bose’s suspension system was undoubtedly ahead of its time, it was both heavy and expensive, making it unsuitable for cars. Automakers such as Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Ferrari expressed interest in the system for its technical success, but things couldn’t move forward as the suspension required radical car redesigns for adoption. Sadly, the project was scrapped and couldn’t reach the production stage.
Bose sold the rights to the tech and utilised the knowledge gained from the project for other innovations, such as Bose Ride, an active suspension seat for commercial truck drivers. However, the videos of Lexus bunny-hopping over kerbs go viral every few years, prompting people to wonder why we still can’t accommodate the technology into today’s vehicles.
This year in March, the proactive suspension system did make it to the roads in China in an electric Nio ET9, thanks to the American company ClearMotion, which owns and further developed the technology. The suspension is reportedly being developed for adoption in 3 million cars as the company gets ready to enter a partnership with Porsche and other European automakers. According to Automotive News, Porsche will not only utilise ClearMotion1 but also launch RoadMotion, a proactive chassis control software that scans the road to create a localised street profile, allowing the system to auto-adapt when driving through the area again.
ClearMotion has been working for a long time to finalise deals with automakers and bring the suspension based on Bose’s model to mass production. The suspension refinements, however, make the technology drastically different from the original iteration. While Bose’s version replaced traditional dampers with linear electric motors that used sensor data to move the wheels vertically to cancel out bumps, ClearMotion adapted the control software and applied it to active valve dampers with a magnetic fluid. The use of electrohydraulic actuators makes the suspension more compact and affordable but less dynamic than Bose’s system.
While ClearMotion/Bose suspension system finally takes off the testing phase with Nio ET9, another car from the streets of China with a similar suspension system is getting ready to embrace the roads worldwide. BYD has not only successfully managed to replicate what Bose did in 2004 on the technical front but also realised it into a commercial product with Yangwang U9 — a pure electric supercar priced at 1.68 Million RMB (around Rs 1.99 crore) that can reach a top speed of 309.19 kmph and sprint from 0 to 100 kmph in just 2.36 seconds.
BYD’s DiSus-X Intelligent Body Control System enables the Yangwang U9 to achieve the maximum adjustable suspension travel of up to 75mm, while its peak single-axis lifting speed of up to 500 mm/s enables an instantaneous lifting force of over 1 ton, facilitating the remarkable leap-up of the U9.
The DiSus Intelligent Body Control System was announced in April 2023, along with a preview of the U9. It is profiled in three branches, including the Intelligent Damping Body Control System (DiSus-C), the Intelligent Air Body Control System (DiSus-A), and the Intelligent Hydraulic Body Control System (DiSus-P). The DiSus-X is basically an advanced system combining DiSus-C, DiSus-A, and DiSus-P for a versatile system capable of extreme manoeuvres.
DiSus-X integrates intelligent damping, hydraulic, and air body control systems, providing vertical, lateral, and longitudinal body dynamics that minimise body roll, improve stability, and even allow for controlled jumps or dancing. This means it enables the car to stay stable even during high-speed cornering, heavy acceleration, and emergency braking.
While BYD is preparing to bring the Yangwang U9 electric supercar to global markets, the BYD Seal with DiSus-C suspension system is available on the Indian roads. While this car cannot jump over obstacles, it can adapt to different road conditions, offering a smooth and stable ride over undulations and speed bumps using adaptive dampers to adjust suspension stiffness in real-time based on road conditions, vehicle speed, and driving dynamics.
For now, suspension systems like DiSus-X and ClearMotion1 are limited to luxurious supercars. We may need to wait a few more years for the technology to mature further, become more affordable, and eventually trickle down to lower segments—ultimately revolutionising the automotive industry.
| Aspect | BYD DiSus-X | Bose Electromagnetic | ClearMotion (CM1) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Hybrid (damping, air, hydraulic) | Electromagnetic (linear motors) | Electrohydraulic (Activalve) |
| Actuation | Hydraulic, air, and electronic damping | Linear electromagnetic motors (LEMs) | Electrohydraulic actuators |
| Adjustability | Up to 150 mm; independent wheel control | Full range of motion; can jump or lift over obstacles | Wheel height and damping control; compact design |
| Key Capabilities | Three-wheel driving, jumping, emergency load reduction, off-road performance | Eliminates roll/pitch, can jump over obstacles, regenerative energy | Smooth ride, minimal roll/pitch, optimized for autonomy |
| Applications | Yangwang U9 | Prototypes (Lexus LS400) | NIO ET9, tested on BMW 5-Series, Tesla Model 3; luxury/autonomous cars |
| Production Status | In production (Yangwang U9, 2023) | Never produced; sold to ClearMotion in 2017 | In production (NIO ET9, 2025) |
