Wednesday 11th June

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra beats Taycan Turbo GT 'ring time

Smartphone giant lays down gauntlet with Nurburgring production EV lap record

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It was little surprise to find that news of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra prototype securing a formidable Nurburgring lap time attracted plenty of comments; more than 120 at the last count, owing to the astonishing 6:46 lap. But there were only so many firm conclusions to be drawn, really, given the car’s prototype status; it was a great achievement, if of limited relevance given it wasn’t quite production representative. 

But now a showroom-spec, albeit with optional track package (if it’s good enough for Porsche...) SU7 Ultra has set a verified Nordschleife lap time. More than that, it set a new record for EV execs, with a 7:04.957. Ahead of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT (7:07.55, with its own raft of circuit-focused upgrades included), and just beating even the Rimac Nevera, a dedicated and even more powerful EV hypercar (7:05.298).

Porsche will be consoled by the fact that a comparable car with hundreds of horsepower less is within a couple of seconds of the new record holder. The Xiaomi’s 1,527hp from a trio of motors comfortably exceeds the Turbo GT’s 952hp Attack Mode peak, with the crazy 1,108hp number only a system max for two seconds. But, well, nobody remembers second place. And Xiaomi is already suggesting, via its CEO Lei Jun, that the company will be back at the Nurburgring to improve on its performance. 

Quite where the SU7 Ultra will go faster is anyone’s guess. Because alongside hitting 214mph (!) down the Dottingher-Hohe, it carries decent speed and composure through the bends; that aero kit would certainly seem to be helping with high-speed stability, even if the Xiaomi inevitably doesn’t deal with the slow stuff quite like a lighter car. We don’t know which tyres were used; whatever rubber was on the SU7 Ultra doesn't howl in protest too much. It's all very impressive, even to those of us who’ve watched days of Nordschleife footage. The Norfolk numberplates are nice to see as well. We knew that Prodrive was involved with the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra prototype; seems like they might be taking advantage of some more English expertise in addition…

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• Xiaomi SU7 Ultra smashes Taycan GT 'ring time
• Porsche Taycan smashes its own Interlagos record

[Slowlygettingit]

Ooh yeah got to get me one of those superfast cars from the phone company - said no grown adult ever in the western world.
[puts on tin hat]

[SR]

One way or another Chinese cars will decimate western brands, this is merely a foretaste of things to come.

[quitequiet]

impressive, imagine reading this headline 10 years ago lol

[DMZ]

A phone maker beats Porsche at the Nurburgring, that is hilarious.

[juice]

Shame there was no rear camera. Would have been nice to see an Astramax behind....flashing its lights

[NDNDNDND]

With combustion-engined cars, I can understand why one makes more horsepower than another, but with battery cars it just seems to be a matter of choice.

Why can't Porsche simply reprogramme a Taycan to make 1500bhp?

[trails]

NDNDNDND said:

With combustion-engined cars, I can understand why one makes more horsepower than another, but with battery cars it just seems to be a matter of choice.

Why can't Porsche simply reprogramme a Taycan to make 1500bhp?

I suspect that question is being asked in an office in Stuttgart

[Cupramax]

This will, of course, be very useful when the entire country is covered in 20mph limits

[Baddie]

Very impressive. Even just the heat and battery management is a big ask, never mind the dynamic bits. To beat a much more experienced team and the Nevera is due a lot of credit. The budget to close that learning curve must have been huge, even if the Porsche still has a chassis advantage.

[LotusOmega375D]

Check the date on the photo. April Fool!

[Baddie]

NDNDNDND said:

With combustion-engined cars, I can understand why one makes more horsepower than another, but with battery cars it just seems to be a matter of choice.

Why can't Porsche simply reprogramme a Taycan to make 1500bhp?

The heat and battery management must be big challenges. The Taycan can only do 1100hp for a couple of seconds!

[Amanitin]

SR said:

One way or another Chinese cars will decimate western brands, this is merely a foretaste of things to come.

long before that happens the EU will introduce reciprocal conditions for access to its markets.
I.e. pay huge tariffs, or manufacture locally through a 50-50% joint venture with a local company.

the decimation will then slow down considerably.

[nickfrog]

Faster than my bloody Xiaomi Redmi "Pro".

No, actually it's been a great phone.

[NDNDNDND]

Baddie said:

NDNDNDND said:

With combustion-engined cars, I can understand why one makes more horsepower than another, but with battery cars it just seems to be a matter of choice.

Why can't Porsche simply reprogramme a Taycan to make 1500bhp?

The heat and battery management must be big challenges. The Taycan can only do 1100hp for a couple of seconds!

Fair point, actually. I was watching a video earlier of an MG4(?) lapping the Nurburgring, which derated after its first lap.

Also: look at the huge vents in the bonnet of the Xiaomi...

Wasn't it the SU7 that was involved in a mini-scandal where journalists were crashing cars on track because they were so under-braked?

[GT9]

NDNDNDND said:

With combustion-engined cars, I can understand why one makes more horsepower than another, but with battery cars it just seems to be a matter of choice.

Why can't Porsche simply reprogramme a Taycan to make 1500bhp?

It's more than just a software update.
The SU7 uses a 900V battery as does the Taycan Turbo GT.
Lesser Taycan's use 800V.
Regular EVs tend to be 400V.
To take the Porsche up to1500 hp would require upgraded hardware (battery/inverter/motor) that can handle the higher current that such an increase in power would demand, considering that power = volts x amps.

[StoutBench]

Slowlygettingit said:

Ooh yeah got to get me one of those superfast cars from the phone company - said no grown adult ever in the western world.
[puts on tin hat]

Is it any stranger then 'I want one of those cars that guy who was in the SS designed'

Times change.

[Fiesta1.0L]

DMZ said:

A phone maker beats Porsche at the Nurburgring, that is hilarious.

They also make nail clippers.

A nail clipper maker beats Porsche at the Nurburgring

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stainless-Clippers-Trimme...

[cerb4.5lee]

The Taycan's depreciation is bad enough as it is, so I bet Porsche are over the moon to hear this as well. What a nightmare.

[Andy83n]

DMZ said:

A phone maker beats Porsche at the Nurburgring, that is hilarious.

Tbf they beat everyone not just porsche

[wolfie28]

Xiaomi - Isn't that one of Katie Price's kids??