Smartphone giant Xiaomi this week revealed a prototype for a hardcore version of its first car, the SU7 electric sedan.
The new version is called the SU7 Ultra, and it features a three-motor powertrain generating a combined output of 1,527 horsepower, or enough for 0-62 mph acceleration in 1.97 seconds and a top speed of 217 mph, according to the company’s claims. Xiaomi aims to start sales in 2025.
Development is ongoing, including at the Nürburgring race track in Germany, and Xiaomi has confirmed that an official lap time will be set in October.
The lap record for production electric vehicles is 7:05:298, set by Rimac Nevera 1,914 hp in 2023. 1,092 hp from Porsche Taycan Turbo GT came close to that time, clocking 7:07.55 earlier this year, but had to remove the rear seats to achieve it.
Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Prototype
The SU7 Ultra has also received extensive weight-saving modifications, to the tune of about 1,100 pounds, thanks largely to carbon fiber replacing many standard parts. The target weight for the production model is less than 4,400 pounds.
High power and low weight aren’t the only factors that will help the SU7 Ultra potentially set an EV record at the Nürburgring. The car also has an extreme aerodynamic package that helps deliver more than 4,700 pounds of downforce.
The SU7 debuted late last year. The largest battery currently offered is a 101 kWh unit, though Xiaomi has indicated that it plans to offer larger battery options. These will range in capacity from approximately 132 kWh to 150 kWh, and it’s possible that one of these will be installed in the SU7 Ultra as well.
The regular SU7 is currently only available in China, where it’s priced at around $30,000, or less than the retail price of a Tesla Model 3 in that market. That’s for a single-motor, 295-hp, rear-wheel-drive model. Upgrading to a dual-motor, 664-hp, all-wheel-drive model costs around $41,500. Given the high price tag, that Xiaomi CEO Lei Jun told CNBC in a March interview, it meant the company was losing money on every copy sold; its entire budget for 2024 was sold out within about 24 hours of going on sale.