From the prototype vehicle to the mass - produced champion, Xiaomi goes head - to - head in the "Performance Temple".

Near the starting point of the Nürburgring track, there is a café, which offers an excellent view. Many European and American tourists enjoy sipping coffee while watching the cars speeding on the distant track and the various interesting vehicles in the parking lot.

Recently, everyone's attention has been drawn to the huge billboard in front of them.

A time of 7 minutes, 4 seconds, and 957 milliseconds has surpassed the previous record of 7 minutes, 7 seconds, and 55 milliseconds set by the Nürburgring host, the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, making it the fastest production electric vehicle on the Nürburgring.

This record was achieved by Xiaomi, a Chinese automobile brand.

On this 20.8-kilometer-long racing track with 177 turns, Xiaomi used a production vehicle that can legally drive on the road to push the benchmark of electric performance vehicles to a new height.

Different from the prototype vehicle last October, which used 21 carbon fiber components to reduce weight by 57 kilograms, the production version must meet three conditions: being available for public sale, complying with road regulations, and not being specially modified for the track. Apart from necessary safety modifications and weight balancing, Xiaomi can only enhance performance through a 100,000-yuan "racing package" and some sellable carbon fiber kits.

In other words, this car is actually on sale. For just 671,900 yuan, consumers can own the fastest production electric vehicle on the Nürburgring.

If the prototype vehicle represents Xiaomi's goal for automotive performance, then the production vehicle has turned Xiaomi's ideal into reality. The 7 minutes, 4 seconds, and 957 milliseconds is not only a victory in speed but also a certification of Xiaomi's technology and quality, as well as a new calling card for Chinese automobile manufacturing.

An Unexpected Lap Time, a Reasonable Technological Breakthrough

The Nürburgring track is a world-famous automotive testing ground. How to achieve the fastest possible lap time? Traditional racing brands know the answer well.

Porsche has held the fastest lap time on the Nürburgring for 42 consecutive years. In 2018, Porsche used the 919 Hybrid Evo to set a time of 5 minutes and 19 seconds, breaking its own record of 6 minutes and 11 seconds set in 1983.

How to become the lap time king? Porsche's answer is: faster on straightaways and more stable in corners.

How to achieve faster speeds in corners is the core challenge in racing. The Nürburgring track has a total of 177 turns, including 73 dangerous corners. Only by having fast cornering speeds can the overall lap time be improved.

Lightweight design and chassis technology are Porsche's moats. Porsche's lightest production model weighs only 440 kg and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 3 seconds with just 220 horsepower. The black-box technology of active suspension and dynamic control gives Porsche an edge in the Nürburgring corners.

However, in the era of electrification, Porsche is also facing the challenge of balancing power and weight. Even after installing the Weissach track package, the curb weight of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT still reaches 2.2 tons. Although it has 1,092 horsepower, the large vehicle weight remains the core factor dragging down the lap time.

This is a challenge faced by all electric vehicle manufacturers.

The curb weight of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is 2.36 tons. After installing a 1.7-square-meter carbon fiber roof and hood, its estimated final weight is still around 2.3 tons, with a 100-kg difference from the Nürburgring king, Porsche.

However, the track version of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT removed the electric tailgate and power-closing doors to reduce weight. In contrast, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra not only retains these features but also keeps the entire set of sensors for advanced driver assistance systems.

If Xiaomi also abandoned the comfort features for daily use, would its lightweight performance be better? The answer behind this 100-kg difference, whether it's a technological gap or a different product concept, is quite obvious.

However, to top the production vehicle lap time list, the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra needs not only lightweight technology but also an absolute strength: Xiaomi has developed a drive motor with faster response, higher threshold, and stronger extreme performance in a smaller size and lighter weight, along with a more efficient three-electric system.

By comparing the documentary videos of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT challenging the Nürburgring, it can be found that due to its heavier body, the speed of the Xiaomi at the center of many corners is indeed slightly behind that of the Porsche, but the gap is small.

However, the Xiaomi accelerates faster after exiting the corners. Especially on the straightaway at the end of the Nürburgring track, the maximum speed of the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT is 305 km/h, while the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra once reached 346 km/h.

In fuel-powered racing cars, lightweight design and tuning technology are important, but engine efficiency is the key to winning. In electric vehicles with similar weights, excellent suspension technology can indeed allow the vehicle to have a higher cornering speed, but horsepower and top speed still have an absolute advantage.

Behind the 346 km/h maximum track speed of the SU7 Ultra is Xiaomi's self-developed V8s super motor, with a rotational speed of up to 27,200 rpm and a power density of 10.14 kW/kg, achieving higher performance with a smaller size and lighter weight.

Of course, powerful performance not only requires a strong motor but also high-intensity basic conditions for the vehicle. A higher peak voltage, a larger discharge power, and a more stable body structure are all indispensable.

It is both unexpected and reasonable that Xiaomi achieved a time of 7 minutes, 4 seconds, and 957 milliseconds.

Porsche, which has been competing at the Nürburgring for nearly 50 years, has the best racing technology and the most extensive track experience. Xiaomi Automobile, founded only 3 years ago, has less than 2 years of experience in lapping at the Nürburgring.

At the launch event of the SU7 Ultra, Lei Jun said that Xiaomi would take 10 years to challenge Porsche's record at the Nürburgring. In the performance car segment, everyone wants to challenge Porsche, but everyone also respects it.

However, the transformation in the era of electrification has provided an opportunity for latecomers to surpass. In the face of the currently unsolvable vehicle weight problem and the new motor, electronic control, and thermal management technologies, automobile manufacturers are back on a similar starting line.

Xiaomi's determination to invest in automotive technology and its pursuit of high technology, high quality, and high safety make it reasonable to surpass Porsche.

From Prototype to Production Vehicle, High Performance is Backed by High Technology, High Quality, and High Safety

This is not Xiaomi's first time competing at the Nürburgring. In October last year, the prototype of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra set a lap time of 6 minutes, 46 seconds, and 874 milliseconds at the Nürburgring, becoming the fastest four-door vehicle on the Nürburgring.

The result of the prototype vehicle proves the limit of Xiaomi's racing technology, while the production vehicle is more about verifying the high quality and high safety behind the high performance.

The prototype vehicle is an experimental product that ignores costs, does not need to pass regulatory verification, and only needs to meet the safety protection standards set by the track. However, the production vehicle needs to pass regulatory verification and be capable of consistent industrial mass production.

The first challenge is safety. Some racing events also require crash tests, but the purpose of these tests in racing is only to protect the safety of a single driver. The SU7 Ultra needs to pass the crash tests for passenger cars, which not only ensure the safety of all passengers inside the vehicle but also consider the safety of pedestrians outside the vehicle and even protect the property safety of the vehicle itself.

The second challenge is durability. Durability is the core difference between the prototype and the production vehicle. To pursue extreme performance, the prototype usually uses many expensive and experimental materials, such as carbon fiber and ceramics. These materials that can meet special requirements have limited service lives and are difficult to produce through standardized industrial processes.

For example, the prototype of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra used almost 100% carbon fiber exterior kits. These carbon fiber components have good weight reduction and high-temperature resistance effects, but they are prone to cracking due to external impacts and are difficult to repair by sheet metal. They can only be replaced, and carbon fiber parts are also characterized by high cost, long production time, and complex processes.

Therefore, in the production version, to balance costs and the user experience, Xiaomi had to reduce the use of carbon fiber. In many areas such as tires, suspensions, brake pads, and brake calipers, Xiaomi needs to make a balance from the perspectives of safety, durability, and mass production.

To achieve all this, Xiaomi needs not only strong determination but also key technological breakthroughs.

In the highly competitive domestic market environment, it is obvious that Chinese automakers face great difficulties in survival. Automobile manufacturers have to invest a large amount of money and energy in cost and price wars to quickly seize market share.

However, the end result of intense competition is a sluggish market, and high technology is the core driving force for growth. In 2023, at Xiaomi's first automotive technology launch event, Lei Jun said that after deciding to enter the automotive industry, Xiaomi set a very high goal for its electric drive team: to develop three generations of motors simultaneously.

The production version of the SU7 Ultra competing at the Nürburgring uses Xiaomi's self-developed V8s motor. At the same time, Xiaomi is also conducting pre-research on a new technology with a rotational speed of up to 35,000 rpm.

From the research and development of core technologies to topping the production vehicle lap time list at the Nürburgring, Xiaomi still needs to go through numerous verifications and tests.

One of the important indicators for a production vehicle is that it can achieve standardized industrial production and the products have good consistency. For example, in terms of aerodynamics, what is the limit of the curvature of the front hood of the SU7 Ultra to reduce the drag coefficient? Can the cost and difficulty of industrial mass production be controlled? This requires Xiaomi to have sufficient patience.

From the prototype to the production vehicle, Xiaomi also needs to continuously practice on different models and different tracks. Only through small-step iterations and rapid experiments can it achieve the best result of 7 minutes, 4 seconds, and 957 milliseconds.

The Nürburgring track was previously known as Porsche's training ground. Only by immersing in the track can one break through its limits. Lapping at the Nürburgring is not a publicity stunt for Xiaomi but an important part deeply embedded in the design and development of Xiaomi automobiles.

Adhering to the original intention of technological research and development and respecting safety and quality, Xiaomi has, with determination and perseverance, broken the century-long monopoly of Western automakers on the "temple of performance." It has become the first Chinese production electric vehicle to top the Nürburgring Nordschleife, engraving "Chinese speed" in the global automotive industry history.

Xiaomi Will Be Remembered by the Chinese and Global Automotive Industries

China's automotive industry did not have an advantage at the beginning. To quickly gain market recognition, domestic automakers usually adopted the strategy of overtaking on the curve in the past: since it was difficult to directly challenge Western automotive industries, they used intelligent technologies to create new consumption trends.

Now, China's automotive intelligent technologies are already in the first echelon globally. At automotive exhibitions every year, Japanese, American, and German automakers are studying the intelligent cockpit and intelligent driving technologies of Chinese cars.

Although intelligent technology has become popular, the automotive industry still has its own laws. Power, body, and suspension remain core challenges, and racing technology is still the top symbol of the automotive industry.

To break through the current intense competition, China must expand the influence of its automotive brands to increase the market capacity. There is only one way: direct confrontation. Chinese automotive brands must win in the narrative logic of Western automotive industries to gain real respect and recognition in the global automotive market.

Only by becoming the first and completely subverting the aura of Western automotive brands can a brand attract more market attention and user recognition. Therefore, Xiaomi chose to challenge the Nürburgring track and aims to set a best lap time.

The model that successfully topped the Nürburgring production electric vehicle lap time list will soon be included in the racing game "Gran Turismo," known as the "Oscars of the automotive industry," becoming the first Chinese model to be featured. From the Nürburgring track to racing culture, Xiaomi is leading Chinese automotive brands onto a larger stage.

It's worth noting that this four-door vehicle, which outperformed the 1.998-million-yuan Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, only needs to be equipped with the "track professional package," a carbon fiber double-air duct front hood, and a carbon fiber rear wing. The final price is only 671,900 yuan, just one-third of the Porsche's price.

The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is even suitable for daily use. It has a wheelbase of 3000 mm, seats with ventilation, heating, and massage functions, provides L2+ level driver assistance, and even has a 25-speaker audio system.

Xiaomi needs to balance comfort features, achieve performance breakthroughs, and control costs and prices. What Xiaomi has achieved is not just a simple Nürburgring lap time but a breakthrough in the iron triangle of industrial products.

Competition is the crucible of progress, and technological innovation is the fuel for advancement. This is the eternal law of the automotive industry. History will remember not those who control costs by breaking price records or those who simply stack configurations but the pioneers who break through key technologies and truly drive the industry forward.

Why does the achievement of Xiaomi Automobile at the Nürburgring deserve everyone's respect and congratulations? Because it has clearly recognized the direction with a clear mind and, with fearless courage, firmly stood at the