Now, it wouldn’t be a Nordschleife record without just a little bit of confusion. So if we’re all sitting comfortably, let’s explain why this Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lap time - a frankly absurd 6:22.091 - is a bit different to the last Xiaomi SU7 Ultra lap time we wrote about, which ambled around in a very pedestrian (by comparison) 7:04.957.
It’s because this lap marked the return of the SU7 Ultra prototype, a car which you might recall from its 6:46 lap at the end of last year. To all intents and purposes, this is the same vehicle, only now it’s gone an astonishing 24 seconds faster around the 20-kilometre lap. In less than six months (the original lap was October, this one April), the EV has improved its lap time by nearly half a minute. Quite how that’s been achieved isn’t clear; Xiaomi, in quite nonchalant and cool fashion, has published the video of a sub-6:30 lap, claimed a prototype vehicle lap record again, and left it at that. There isn’t any detail yet on what’s changed from 2024 to 2025.
Watching the laps side by side (because we’re sad like that) doesn’t seem to show much difference in acceleration - when your brain can keep up - however the really fast sections of the Nordschleife do show the new car recording substantially higher speeds. Maybe this is an aerodynamic change, or an upgrade on the 1,548hp that can only really make its presence felt right at the top end. Probably both have changed to slash the time by such an amount (or the Xiaomi team was really taking it easy beforehand).
That never seemed to be the case, though, and it definitely isn’t now. Whatever the powertrain, a car capable of this speed is going to be a demanding experience, and the acceleration only really lets up slightly beyond 155mph. Check out the little 180mph wobble at three minutes (so already halfway around!) if you think EV laps are a bit dull. Cornering speeds that are actually quite fast are made to look pedestrian because of the phenomenal rate it accrues velocity between them. The track looks narrower, the barriers closer and the danger even greater because it’s just so ruddy fast. It’ll be fascinating to hear what Xiaomi says has changed for this prototype. What on earth are they going to do next…
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