Perhaps better known for its smartphones in Australia, Chinese tech firm Xiaomi has set a new production EV lap record at the Nurburgring.
The automotive division of Chinese tech firm, Xiaomi, has sent a clear warning shot to rivals that its cars have some serious engineering under the skin to tackle established performance vehicles.
The Xiaomi SU7 sedan, the brand’s first model, has already been honed into a high-performance model, first shown by Xiaomi in 2024.
At the time, the SU7 Ultra was claimed to produce 1139kW from its three-motor powertrain and sprint from 0-100km/h in 1.97 seconds.
In prototype guise, the SU7 Ultra, featuring a bare interior and more aggressive aero package, managed to lap the Nurburgring in 6 minutes and 46.8 seconds, with Xiaomi vowing to return with a production model to set a production car record.
The production SU7 Ultra launched in March 2025, with slightly revised specifications including a 1kW drop in power and a 1.98-second sprint time.
The SU7 Ultra features a list of known performance parts, including Pirelli P Zero tyres, Bilstein coilover suspension, Akebono brake calipers, carbon-ceramic brakes and Endless racing brake pads.
The resulting Nurburgring lap from the production car, while slower than the prototype, managed to complete the infamous circuit in 7 minutes and 4.95 seconds, setting a new production EV record in the process.
That makes the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra faster than the fellow four-door Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, which took 7m 5.55sec, and ahead of the Rimac Nevera hypercar, the previous record holder, at 7m 5.29sec.
The top-spec Taycan Turbo GT produces a maximum of 815kW from two electric motors (down 323kW compared to the SU7 Ultra) and can sprint to 100km/h in 2.2 seconds when equipped with the weight-reducing Weissach Pack.
Xiaomi’s EV record trails the fastest production car lap, set by the Mercedes-AMG One, which ran a 6m 29sec lap in September 2024, and the Ford Mustang GTD, which set a fastest time of 6m 52.07sec.
To qualify for the production car record, vehicles must be run on road-legal original equipment tyres, and a full uncut onboard video of the lap must be provided.
Xiaomi claims the SU7 Ultra is limited to a 350km/h top speed, with footage of the run showing the vehicle hitting 346km/h, giving it the title of fastest production sedan ever on the Nurburgring circuit, whether petrol or electric.
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is priced from 529,900 yuan in China ($AU113,200), making it a fraction of the price of the Rimac Nevera’s $US2.2 million ($AU3.4 million) asking price, and over $300,000 less than the $417,600 plus on-road costs price of a Taycan Turbo GT in Australia.
Xiaomi is, for now, not available outside of the Chinese market, but last year the brand expressed it was looking to expand to export markets in the next two to three years.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
