Xiaomi electric cars make Porsche and Tesla look old

Xiaomi set a new best record for four-door cars on the Nurburgring Nordschleife with its SU7 Ultra electric sports car.

Christopher Clausen/t-online

A new record on the legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife: Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi completed the 20.8-kilometer route in a pre-production model of its SU7 Ultra electric sports car. Driver David Pittard set a new record for the four-door car in the “Pre-production model” category with a time of 6 minutes 46.874 minutes. The emphasis here must be on “four-door cars” – because there are certainly cars (electric and internal combustion) that are faster overall at the Nürburgring.

The absolute Nordschleife record remains 5:19.546, set in 2018 by a Porsche 919 Hybrid Evo.

Still: the new record for the four-door car is a full 20 seconds faster than the category's previous record holder, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (7:07:55). The Rimac Nevera, an electric supercar (albeit with two doors), was 18 seconds slower. In 2023, Tesla Model S Plaid also set a lap time record of 7 minutes and 25.231 seconds.

The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra has a total output of 1,138 kilowatts (1,549 horsepower), even surpassing supercars such as the Bugatti Chiron. Image: Xiaomi

Requires multiple attempts

It took many attempts to break the record: previous trips this month had to be postponed due to unfavorable weather conditions. The record round takes place at lunchtime on 28 October. It took several attempts before the team was able to use the one-hour window, with driver David Pittard taking the best time shortly before the end of the race.

Xiaomi had already announced when it launched the SU7 Ultra this summer that it wanted to break the record for the fastest four-door car on the Nordschleife. Manufacturers hope to gain reputation through such awards. This is a welcome opportunity for the Chinese to prove that their products can keep up with, or even surpass, those of traditional and experienced German manufacturers.

Over 1,500 horsepower

The SU7 Ultra's drive system consists of three engines, namely two “Super Motor V8” and one “Super Motor V6” units, with a total output of 1,138 kW (approximately 1,550 hp). For comparison: The previous record holder, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, sometimes produced more than 1,100 horsepower.

SU7 Ultra accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.97 seconds and has a top speed of over 350 km/h. The focus when developing the prototype was aerodynamics and weight reduction: thanks to carbon materials, special spoilers and the aforementioned comfort, weight was reduced to 1,900 kilograms. This means that the record car does not correspond to the production version of the SU7 Ultra, but it still takes the record from Porsche due to the same body, drive technology and four doors.

However, current lap times only apply to the “pre-production model” category. Therefore, the Chinese team plans to use production models to compete on the Nordschleife again in the first half of 2025.

The SU7 Ultra series version is already available for order in China. The price of the more powerful model is expected to be around 110,860 euros. There are currently no specific plans for a European market launch.

In China, Xiaomi's first electric car, the SU7, sells for the equivalent of 27,700 to 39,000 euros, and its recent sales have been better than Tesla's Model 3.

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