Gran Turismo 7 Is Getting Its First Chinese Car

If you needed any further proof that the Chinese car industry has very much come of age, look no further than the fact that for the first time, one of the nation’s cars is set to feature in arguably the biggest racing game franchise of all time: the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is heading to Gran Turismo 7.

A partnership between Gran Turismo and Xiaomi Automotive was officially confirmed at the Gran Turismo World Series event in London over the weekend, after being teased on series creator Kazunori Yamauchi’s social media last week.

Founded in 2010, Xiaomi is one of China’s biggest tech companies, with mobile phones its bread and butter – in fact, it’s the second-largest seller of smartphones in the world. It’s only been making cars since 2023, when it started producing the SU7, a Tesla Model 3-rivalling saloon.

Despite being a comparative newcomer, though, the company has serious ambitions, especially in the automotive sphere. The SU7 Ultra, a 1527bhp triple-motor performance version of the SU7, hit the Nürburgring in prototype form last year and broke the unofficial lap records for both four-door cars and EVs with its 6:46.874 lap.

It’s the SU7 Ultra that’ll mark the manufacturer’s Gran Turismo debut in a future update, and the two companies will collaborate on a Vision Gran Turismo concept too. The latter’s been teased in silhouette form, showing a low-slung coupe with trad sports car proportions and a big rear wing.

Gran Turismo creator and producer Kazunori Yamauchi said: "I’m very happy we will be beginning a collaboration with Xiaomi… I was deeply moved by their courage, inquisitiveness, passion, and the industriousness to make [the Nürburgring record] happen. I have sincere respect for them. These all deeply resonate with our mindset at Gran Turismo and Polyphony Digital."

We don’t know exactly when the SU7 Ultra might arrive in GT7. If the usual last-Thursday-of-the-month cadence is followed, the next update could arrive on 26 June, but beyond that potential date, we don’t know anything concrete about the next additions to the game.