Xiaomi SU7 Prototype laps Nurburgring in storming 6 mins 46.874 seconds

Xiaomi has declared it has shattered records at Germany's iconic Nürburgring Nordschleife with its Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Prototype, clocking in at an impressive 6 minutes and 46.874 seconds.

This remarkable achievement makes the SU7 Ultra Prototype the fastest four-door car to complete the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit, nevermind the previous title holder for EVs. Back in March, Porsche took that top spot with their Taycan Turbo GT with a time of 7:07.55.

In fact, Xiaomi does seem to be poking at Porsche deliberately with the 'Ultra' lettering bearing a striking resemblance to the type of cursive font used by Porsche on the back of their 911 Carreras and even the Taycan. Or is this all coincidence?

However, there are quite notable caveats to this as the Porsche record still stands due to it being a full production, road legal unit whereas the SU7 Ultra remains in its namesake ‘prototype’ phase and has been most likely heavily modified and lightened to achieve such a storming lap. It was also possible, though unconfirmed, that it was running racing slicks.

Not to diminish the feat, of course, as the Xiaomi’s time of just under 6:47 is wildly impressive. We’re keen to see the finished version of the SU7 Ultra return to the Green Hell to challenge the Taycan Turbo GT.

Among unrestricted fully electric vehicles in competition spec, the track-only Volkswagen ID.R holds the overall record with a time of 5:19.546. The current record holder for production vehicles is still, at the time of writing, held by the Mercedes-AMG One with a time of 6:30.70, piloted by Maro Engel.

Xiaomi’s CEO, Lei Jun, revealed that the company initially planned to attempt the record on October 9th and 10th but faced delays due to poor weather. However, on October 28th, during a one-hour window from 11 am to 12 pm, driver David Pittard successfully completed the lap, reaching a peak speed of 342 km/h. Nürburgring officials confirmed the record later that evening.

Xiaomi is set to unveil the production version of the SU7 Ultra soon, featuring advanced Akebono carbon ceramic brakes and Bilstein EVO T1 suspension. In its prototype guise, the SU7 uses a  tri-motor setup that boasts an incredible 1,548 PS and is capable of accelerating from 0-100 km/h in just 1.96 seconds.

Thanks to a carbon fibre construction, its weight has been reduced to a relatively low (for an EV) 1,900 kilograms. Once this high performance variant its healthily rolling off production lines and into customer hands, Xiaomi does aim to pursue a production lap record some time in 2025.