A recent burst of activity on the social media channels of Gran Turismo’s creator, Kazunori Yamauchi, has set some tongues wagging about the possibility of a new marque from a previously unrepresented nation to come to the game series: Xiaomi.
The first piece of the puzzle was a little bit of a mystery, as Yamauchi tweeted out an image of his well-known race gear in what looked like a hotel room, along with a comment that’d he’d just driven a 1,500hp car.
That naturally made quite a few people wonder what the vehicle in question was, with most guessing some form of Bugatti, Koenigsegg, or Pagani — though the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra did make a few appearances in the comments too:
A further message from Yamauchi on his social media channels let the car out of the bag a little, as he posted out a picture of himself with Xiaomi’s CEO, founder, and chairman Lei Jun. While that doesn’t fully confirm the vehicle in question, the brand only currently makes the SU7 — and the Ultra packs he appropriate 1,525hp.
For those who are thinking Xiaomi is a mobile phone brand, you’d be largely correct. It’s really an electronics company but is the second-largest manufacturer of mobile phones in the world — behind Samsung — as well as producing smart wearables, smart home products, televisions, and its own operating system, HyperOS.
However the company found itself subject to an Executive Order from the Trump White House in January 2021, blacklisting it and banning US citizens from investing in the brand, leading Lei Jun to ponder a solution to a potentially major issue. His solution was to get into the automotive industry.
Though the sanctions were lifted a few months later, Xiaomi Auto was already born as the brand broke ground on its F1 car plant in Yizhuangzhen, about 16 miles south-east of the center of Beijing soon after. The first vehicle started production in December 2023, under three years from the original decision.
Xiaomi, which has an exclusive focus on battery electric vehicles, chose the SU7 as its debut vehicle, and this four-door sedan available in a variety of flavors. Its range begins with a rear-wheel drive, 295hp, single-motor model sporting a 73.6kWh lithium-ion-phosphate blade battery sourced from BYD, while there’s also a longer-range 94kWh option from CATL.
The dual-motor SU7 Max more than doubles the power, with the rear motor shifted to the front axle and a new, higher output motor on the rear for a combined 664hp. If that wasn’t quite enough for you — and it hits 60mph in under three seconds — there’s the Ultra with the aforementioned 1,525hp.
A specially prepared racing prototype of the SU7 Ultra broke two Nurburgring lap records in 2024. Firstly it became the fastest ever electric four-door, as it beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT by more than 20 seconds, but it also beat the all-comes four-door time set by a track-prepped Subaru Impreza WRX in 2017. The Taycan keeps its official crown for now as the Xiaomi wasn’t road legal — but the roadgoing SU7 Ultra is set for a challenge later this year.
Indeed Xiaomi is ramping up its public profile as it became a “premium partner” of the Nurburgring earlier this year. That saw it join the official industry pool testing program as well as acquiring naming rights for a corner. The left-handed turn after the Michael-Schumacher-S will now be called the Xiaomi Curve, and the brand features on advertising on the Nordschleife too.
Given the increased PR around the brand and Yamauchi’s presence at an undisclosed location for a presentation that included the brand’s second car (the YU7 SUV) and a new 3nm “XRING” chip developed entirely by Xiaomi, it’s not too much of a stretch to imagine that there’s a Gran Turismo/Xiaomi relationship in the works.
We’ll hopefully hear more at the upcoming Gran Turismo World Series live event in London next weekend, and we’ll bring you any information as we get it.
See more articles on Xiaomi.
