Smartphone firm Xiaomi has made a splash since it first started making cars, with its flagship Porsche Taycan-rivalling SU7 Ultra recently becoming the fastest electric vehicle around the Nordschleife, not only beating Stuttgart’s finest but also the wild Rimac Nevera hypercar.
The record run was off the back of controversy though, when a pre-production version of the SU7 Ultra was sent around the 20.8km circuit last year, setting an unofficial time of six minutes and 46.87 seconds - a rapid time thanks to the super sedan being massively stripped down and fitted with wild aerodynamic parts.
With the official EV record in its pocket, Xiaomi recently returned to the ‘Ring with its prototype, and has now set the third-fastest time ever around the track, completing a lap in six minutes and 22.09 seconds - almost 25 seconds faster than before.
For context, the Mercedes-AMG One completed its lap in six minutes and 29.09 seconds, while the only two cars faster than it are the LMP1-based Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo (5:19.55) and the electric Volkswagen ID.R (6:05.34).
The true technical differences between the prototype and production versions of the SU7 Ultra haven’t been detailed, though it’s understood to feature the same 1140kW outputs as the road-going sedan Chinese customers can buy.
While the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is unlikely to come to Australia in physical form, it’s soon being added to Gran Turismo 7, allowing Playstation owners to get behind the wheel of the rapid EV virtually.
