The point of a parking clamp is to keep a car from going anywhere. Apparently, this BYD SUV never got the memo. Video circulating on Chinese social media seems to show a BYD Denza B8 driving down a public road with its front-left wheel in the air and a yellow-and-red metal wheel clamp still attached. The SUV continues to move, on its remaining three wheels, and it seems less like a parking enforcement operation, more like some unexpected automotive superpower being demonstrated.
The video is unverified and it is unclear what the circumstances were around the incident. But there is a possible technological explanation for the vehicle’s strange behavior: BYD’s advanced hydraulic suspension system, which can independently control each corner of the SUV.
BYD’s suspension lets the SUV lift an individual wheel
The Denza B8, called the Fang Cheng Bao Bao 8 in China, has features that employ BYD’s DiSus-P Ultra hydraulic suspension system. Unlike conventional suspension systems that are limited to body movement and ride comfort, it has the ability to raise and lower individual wheels on its own.
If you recall, the suspension technology was first launched back in 2023 and featured in the widely popular Yangwang U9. Of course, that was a different type of suspension system called DiSus-X – the top spec system, while the B8 uses the DiSus-P Ultra version featuring full-single wheel manipulation and active obstacle recovery.
The technology is said to be able to lift a wheel up to 300 millimeters and hold up to nine metric tons. The SUV has previously been seen moving on three wheels at up to 15km/h. The company has also demonstrated how lifting one wheel can help change a tyre without a traditional jack.
And this makes the viral footage all the more interesting. If the clip accurately shows the vehicle in use of this function, the lifted wheel might explain how the SUV was still able to move with the clamp still affixed . It is not clear from the video how the maneuver was carried out and why the clamp was fitted.
Public-road use raises safety and legal questions
The Denza B8 is a plug-in hybrid SUV that pairs a turbocharged 2.0-liter gasoline engine with an electric powertrain. The Flash Charge Edition comes with a 46.7kWh battery and can travel up to 75 miles on a charge under China’s CLTC testing cycle.
Its suspension technology is designed for real-world applications like off-road driving, vehicle stability and tyre maintenance. However, using it to move a vehicle with a wheel clamp on is a completely different proposition.
There is no confirmation of any official response and the footage does not show if the driver was trying to avoid a parking ticket. The clip fails to prove that the SUV can legally or safely drive away from a clamping operation either.
But it is a memorable example of how sophisticated vehicle engineering can yield surprising results. A feature intended to improve suspension control could have landed in a situation its engineers never intended.
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