Category: Speed

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• A Xiaomi SU7 Ultra completed a lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife quicker than the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.
• The record-breaking vehicle is a stripped-out prototype with a carbon fiber body, so it’s lighter and quicker than the production version.

Xiaomi clearly wants its SU7 electric performance sedan to rival the Porsche Taycan. There is certainly a lot of Porsche in its design, right down to the font used for the “Ultra” text on the car, which looks very similar to the one Porsche uses to write “Turbo.” Now, the Chinese newcomer has taken a stripped-out SU7 Ultra prototype to the Nurburgring Nordschleife, where it put down a quicker time than the quickest Taycan, the Turbo GT, with the optional Weissach package.

Update Friday, Nov. 1: After this story ran, a Porsche Cars North America spokesperson pointed out that this Xiaomi SU7 Ultra prototype and the Taycan Turbo GT completed their Nürburgring laps in different classes. So while the Xiaomi was quicker, it’s not as apples-to-apples as many initial stories implied. Our original story follows below. 

Yesterday, on October 28, the SU7 Ultra prototype managed to complete a lap of the famed circuit that measures 12.9 miles (20.8 kilometers) in 6:46.874, which is quite a bit quicker than the Porsche’s 7:07.55 time. What makes it even more impressive is the fact that the SU7 lost power for 12 seconds during the record run and was still able to complete the lap ahead.

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The SU7 Ultra is powered by three electric motors, with one powering each of the rear wheels and another sending its power to the front axle. It has a combined output of 1,548 horsepower and it can accelerate to 62 mph (100 km/h) in under 2 seconds and to 124 mph (200 km/h) in 5.98 seconds. Its top speed is 217 mph (350 km/h).

With these numbers, it’s faster and more powerful than any other sedan in the world (electric or otherwise), beating the Lucid Air Sapphire’s 1,234 hp, the Tesla Model S Plaid’s 1,020 hp or the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT’s 1,092 hp.

Now, it’s worth noting that even though Xiaomi brands the SU7 Ultra as a road-legal vehicle, the car they used for the record run appears to have a fully stripped-out interior and roll cage. This means it’s lighter and stiffer than the actual roadgoing model, which will be slightly slower around a track. Manufacturers are known to do this when they set out to break Nurburgring records, so it’s no surprise that Xiaomi’s record breaker is tweaked to get the most possible out of it.

Earlier this month, Xiaomi opened pre-orders for the SU7 Ultra, which costs 800,000 yuan ($112,500) in China. One of the big changes between the record-breaking prototype and the actual production model (expected to be revealed next year) is that it won’t feature the former’s full carbon fiber body, so it will be slightly heavier as a result. Having a full interior will drive the weight up further, so it will be much closer to the Taycan Turbo GT in terms of lap times.

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