Xiaomi likes to surprise at MWC. This year's should make some visitors to the show drop their jaws. Against all expectations, the star of the Xiaomi stand may not be its Xiaomi 15 Ultra... but another Ultra version, that of the SU7, its first electric car. Barely announced and already pre-ordered at more than 20,000 units in a few hours, the sports version of the sedan is proudly displayed on the aisles of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
Decked in its bright yellow livery, the SU7 Ultra doesn't beat around the bush; it's a GT at heart and under the hood. Of course, there are many similarities with the classic version, but there are still notable differences. Starting with the dimensions: the SU7 Ultra is longer (5.11 m), wider (1.97 m) and lower (1.46 m), which automatically gives it a more aggressive look. Like the majority of exceptional sports cars, it does not hesitate to force the line with a prominent front splitter and a 1.56 m carbon fiber spoiler. Moreover, Xiaomi has not skimped on the use of carbon, where it is most useful (the entire roof in particular), with the obvious objective of reducing the weight of the car as much as possible. This recurring use of carbon fiber would have saved 500 kg in total. On the 1900 kg of the machine, this may seem secondary, but when you are looking for performance, this kind of optimization can make the difference.
Beat Porsche on your favorite circuit
Performance is obviously the key word for this SU7 Ultra that Xiaomi says is made for circuits. Certainly, its passage at the Nürburgring will be closely scrutinized, but in the meantime, we will have to be content with the first laps of the circuit in Shanghai with an already explosive time of 2’09’944.
How did the SU7 achieve this record time? Largely thanks to its in-house engine, the Xiaomi HyperEngine V8s which displays 578 hp and some 635 Nm of torque. The SU7 Ultra stacks two at the rear to which is added a V6s engine at the front. Result: 1548 hp which allow the car to be propelled from 0 to 100 km/h in just 1.98 s. The 0 to 200 km/h is done in less than 6 seconds and the sports car can exceed 350 km/h in top speed.
Like any self-respecting GT, the SU7 Ultra is not intended solely for the circuit. Xiaomi therefore announces that it will also be able to count on a more than respectable autonomy (630 km in the CLTC cycle, which is generally more optimistic than our WLTP which arrives at results 10 to 20% lower depending on the model). The SU7 Ultra should also count on a very efficient fast recharge with its CATL Qilin 2.0 battery which promises a recharge from 10 to 80% in just 11 minutes.
So, the question that arises is the same as that concerning the standard SU7. Will it be marketed in Europe? For the moment and while waiting to achieve its feats on the "Nürb", Xiaomi prefers to ignore this question. However, at a price of around 70,000 euros, it would have plenty of arguments to establish itself in the highly sought-after category of electric sports cars.
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