- Xiaomi took a SU7 Ultra prototype to the Nürburgring Nordschleife to prepare for a record-breaking lap time.
- The four-door electric sedan completed a lap in 6 minutes and 48.874 seconds.
- Xiaomi plans to attempt to break the fastest four-door production EV record in 2025.
Xiaomi only revealed the SU7 Ultra prototype in July, promising to launch a production version sometime next year. The company has big plans to become one of the world's top five automakers, and part of that plan includes producing the fastest four-door electric sedan to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife.
It took its first step toward achieving that goal this week by running a SU7 prototype around the track, achieving a time of 6 minutes and 48.874 seconds. That would have been a record if Xiaomi had tested a production car, but the official attempt with the actual model will happen sometime in 2025.
Xiaomi's prototype was a stripped-down version that lacked a dashboard, featured a racing steering wheel, and was far from being production-ready. The car's prototype status showed itself during the lap (4 minute and 10 second mark) when the accelerator pedal failed. The driver jabbed it several times before it started responding again, but even with the hiccup, the SU7 still set an astonishing time.
The EV crushed the previous record of 7 minutes and 7.55 seconds set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, and the production SU7 Ultra will likely have the goods to dethrone Porsche. When the prototype debuted earlier this year, Xiaomi said the SU7 Ultra made 1,548 horsepower from its tri-motor setup. It can reach 62 miles per hour in 1.97 seconds and hit a 217-mph top speed.
Those are big numbers coming for a car being built by a smartphone maker, and the Xiaomi SU7 is making even bigger impressions on people. Ford CEO Jim Farley has been driving one for the last several months, and recently said he doesn't want to give it up. Chinese automakers are doing their best to compete with the West, including the desire to dominate at the iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife.
Source: Xiaomi
