Xiaomi SU7 Ultra takes the four-door Nurburgring title
The all-electric Chinese saloon knocks the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT off the top step
Earlier this year, Chinese electronics giant-turned car maker Xiaomi promised it would take on the Nurburgring with its SU7 Ultra prototype, and has now revealed that it has taken the record as the fastest four-door to lap the famous track. In doing so, Xiaomi also confirmed that the SU7 Ultra prototype would also be turned into a production car.
With a time of 6:46:87 for the SU7 Ultra, the new Chinese super-saloon has easily bested the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, which completed a 7:07:55 lap in August 2023. Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi Corporation said, “I am proud of the unparalleled performance of Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Prototype, and even more proud of our team.”
The conquering of the four-door Nurburgring title isn’t too much of a surprise when you bear in mind the SU7 Ultra’s technical specification. Xiaomi claims the SU7 Ultra can accelerate from 0 to 62mph in 1.97 seconds (0.8 seconds faster than the dual-motor SU7 Max) and top out at over 217mph, compared to the standard car’s 130mph to speed. It’s also worth noting the Xiaomi’s lap time was recorded as a prototype/pre-production vehicle, so it remains to be seen if the production-ready model will be able to repeat the feat.
In order to generate the extra straight-line speed, Xiaomi fitted the SU7 Ultra with three electric motors, with the two large ones confusingly called ‘V8s’ and the smaller one called ‘V6’. In total the motors produce 1,526bhp. Xiaomi hasn’t said what battery the SU7 Ultra will use but we expect the same 101kWh unit as the Max.
While the SU7 Ultra has its Porsche rival beaten on power by over 400bhp, it’s also lighter by 334kg, at 1,900kg. This has been achieved by using a carbon fibre body, composite components in the chassis plus some weight reduction for the interior such as removing the air-conditioning.
The Ultra also gets an uprated braking system to go with the extra punch, courtesy of six-piston AP Racing calipers and huge ventilated discs. Xiaomi says that coupled with the regenerative braking force of the electric motors (0.6G) the Ultra can produce up to 2.36G of braking power.
In order for the SU7 Ultra to ‘fly close to the ground’ as Xiaomi puts it, there’s a huge amount of aerodynamic downforce from a revised body. At 217mph, the Ultra produces 2,145kg of downforce from a huge fixed rear wing combined with a massive rear diffuser, open wheel arches and a splitter that funnels air through the bonnet.
Click here for our list of the fastest Nurburgring lap times...
