Watch The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra Knock 24 Seconds Off Its Nürburgring Time

We bring you more news of the mind-scrambling Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, and its exploits at the fabled Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the production version of this 1527bhp electric saloon went out and nabbed the lap record for roadgoing electric cars.

That’s the one people in China (and possibly other markets soon) can actually buy, but there’s been another SU7 Ultra running around for a while: a stripped-out prototype with slick tyres and more aggressive aero. That one lapped the 12.9-mile Nordschleife in 6:46.874 last year, already a mighty impressive time.

Xiaomi, though – a company that’s best known for making phones and has been building cars for barely over a year – clearly wasn’t satisfied with that. It’s sent the SU7 Ultra prototype back out around the ’Ring, apparently in more favourable conditions, and knocked over 24 seconds off its previous time.

Its new lap of 6:22.091 means that, as far as the record books show, only two things have ever been around the track faster. One was the Volkswagen ID.R, VW’s purpose-built Pikes Peak record-holding machine, and the other was the Porsche 919 Evo, a top-flight LMP1 endurance racer freed from the bounds of competition regulations.

Then again, that Porsche’s time was a slightly incomprehensible 5:19.546, so Xiaomi and basically everyone else still has a long way to go to dethrone it.

Nevertheless, the SU7 Ultra’s new time unseats the Lotus Evija X – a modified, track-focused version of Lotus’ electric hypercar – from the third spot on the podium. The Lotus’ lap, mind you, was on a damp track, so it probably has more to give. If it’s been fixed yet.

While you can’t buy this particular version of the SU7 Ultra, the company is launching a Nürburgring Limited Edition. Building on the already available Track Pack, it adds FIA-spec carbon fibre bucket seats up front, does away with the rear seats altogether in favour of a roll cage, and adds a downforce-generating carbon fibre underbody aero panel. Just 100 will be made, and somewhat astonishingly, they’ll cost the equivalent of around £82,700 in China.