presented the new Xiaomi SU7 Ultra

At the beginning of the year, Xiaomi surprised everyone with the presentation of the Xiaomi SU7, its first electric car. And this is because, far from entering the sector on tiptoe, the company decided to enter through the front door, challenging the best in the sector from the beginning: Tesla and Porsche.

It’s not that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun was shameless; it’s that he was a personnal projectinspired by his Apple idols, and made sure he could show it off. And boy, does he brag. At the annual CEO address, held today, the real stars weren’t just Xiaomi’s new foldables.

Reviewing the SU7’s achievements took up a good portion of the initial presentation, with Lei Jun appearing as a racing driver piloting the most powerful version to date, the Xiaomi SU7 Max. There was also time to show off Xiaomi’s new car factory, which is capable of producing a vehicle every 76 seconds thanks to Tesla’s “giga-casting” technique. The test area was also shown off, including acceleration and overcoming different types of potholes, as well as extreme weather conditions such as sub-zero driving.

We say that the SU7 Max is the most powerful model “so far”, because today the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra. Following the nomenclature of mobile phones, we are faced with the most complete and advanced electric car, but it is not designed for the common user; in fact, it is not a commercial product, but a project created to demonstrate what Xiaomi is made of.

Xiaomi’s goal is to break the record of the Nürburgring Nordschleife, the classic track used by car enthusiasts for almost a century; Xiaomi wants to have the fastest four-door electric car on this legendary circuit. Choosing a four-door model means ensuring that it is based on a car that can be used on a daily basis by enthusiasts and that it is not simply a prototype specially built for the circuit. Xiaomi has set its sights on Porsche and Tesla models.

Although photos of the SU7 Ultra tests have already leaked during the first tests at the Nürburgring, the aim is to launch the challenge next October and try to break the record in 2025. To achieve this, the Xiaomi SU7 has received a slew of modifications, including a striking rear spoiler that provides 735kg of aerodynamic support; aerodynamics take centre stage, with a gigantic front splitter and a rear heat sink that takes up a good portion of the rear of the car.

It is also the most powerful SU7 to date, with two new V8 engines rated at 578 horsepower each alongside a V6 engine like the conventional SU7; as such, it has a total power of 1,548 horsepower. In other words, this Xiaomi car is more powerful than the most extreme supercars on the market.

The battery pack is rated at 1,339 kW, and while a range estimate has not been released, it is very likely that it was designed specifically for the Nordschleife’s 20-kilometer course. The new AP Racing brakes, used in racing cars, are responsible for stopping the car at the end of the straight, braking from 100 km/h to 0 in just 25 meters. Full braking means experiencing 2.36 Gs of decelerationsomething that only physically prepared pilots will be able to endure.

The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s 0-100 km/h acceleration takes only 1.97 seconds, but that’s not the only surprising figure. Acceleration from 0 to 200 km/h is achieved in 5.96 seconds, and acceleration from 0 to 300 km/h in just 15.07 seconds; the top speed is over 350 km/h. Lei Jun boasted that these figures place the SU7 Ultra as the fastest four-door car in the world. The changes to the SU7 were not only made to aerodynamics, but also to reduce weight, which remained at only 1,900 kg, about 500 kg less than the base model.

Lei Jun says that “people should have dreams” and that it’s okay for Xiaomi not to be as good as its competitors, as long as it keeps challenging itself. The Nürburgring challenge project fits into this philosophy, and Lei Jun warns that Xiaomi could fail and failed to reach the record, but in an emotional speech to the audience he asked for fans’ support.

Of course, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra will not be available to the general public, but it is a project that will put the brand on the lips of many fans and whose advances will be noticed in the company’s future models.