This Is What Happens When Your Phone Company Builds a Rocket - Xiaomi SU7 Ultra
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
So, Xiaomi, you know, the phone people, decided to build a car. Not just any car, mind you, but a four-wheeled, electric-powered, ground-shredding monster. And they've done it with the kind of gusto that makes you wonder if they accidentally plugged the car into a nuclear power plant. They're saying they want to make luxury cars affordable. I say, they've made ludicrous speed affordable.
You think you've seen fast? You haven't seen anything until you've seen what Xiaomi's cooked up. Forget your fancy Italian supercars, your German autobahn bruisers. We're talking about the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, a car that's so ridiculously powerful, it makes a lightning bolt look like a snail on a Sunday stroll. Seriously.
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
But before we jump into the juicy details - let me just explain what is really happening. Xiaomi is making cars. A company that started many years ago from making cheap phones that looked very much like Apple products. Then, they made them better. And then, they went into the domestic appliances business - with the same approach: first make them cheap, then make them better.
A couple of years ago, the entrepreneurial spirit of Xiaomi pushed them into the wild idea of making electric cars. That's right - two years ago. Not twenty or ten. Two years ago, Xiaomi said they would make cars. Then they built a factory, designed their first car and launched it late last year, to an absolute uproar among the public. In two years, Xiaomi did what Apple tried doing for two decades. Yeah, let that simmer for a bit.
But this is Xiaomi, so there was no time to rest after launching the SU7. They had to do one up on the entire EV world; they had to show everyone they meant the business. Going from no cars to selling 20,000 of them every month in two short years wasn't enough. Having a sexy SUV already on the way to follow its good-looking sedan wasn't enough. Oh no. Xiaomi went and created an absolute beast. An electric car that simply has zero competition. Model S Plaid? The SU7 Ultra makes the Plaid look ready for retirement.
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
Let's talk numbers, because numbers are fun, especially when they're this bonkers. We're looking at a 1,526-horsepower beast. One. Thousand. Five Hundred. And Twenty-Six. In a family electric sedan. And 1,305 lb-ft of torque. That's literally enough power to make a small country levitate. It'll launch you from 0 to 62 mph in a blistering 1.98 seconds. No silly roll out here - mush that accelerator to the floor and feel your intestines rearrange themselves into pancakes. This much power will squeeze the air out of your lungs, and your eyes will firmly press against the back of your skull. And if you're brave (or foolish) enough, it'll top out at over 223 mph. Did you know that's actually faster than most airplanes on takeoff?
But all that ridiculous power, as much as shocking it is, pales in comparison to this next number. You may wanna sit down - all this for a starting price of around $72,830. I had to triple-check that it wasn't a mistake, but no - this electric tire slayer is over $7,000 cheaper than the standard Tesla Model S. Even better - instead of buying the Lucid Air Sapphire, you could buy two of these, and still have enough money for the new Gravity SUV! Heck, a fully decked-out VW ID.7 GTX costs about the same despite having less power than one wheel of the SU7 Ultra…
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
Let's get into the geeky bits quickly. The Ultra has three electric motors - a 386 hp unit at the front and two 570 hp motors at the back. It's got a CATL Qilin 2.0 battery pack that can charge from 10 to 80 percent in just 11 minutes. And get this, the battery has a "bulletproof casing" because, apparently, they're expecting people to take potshots at it. The track-focused dual-chamber air suspension adjusts the height and stiffness on the fly, making sure the car stays as close to the ground as possible.
The brakes on this thing are massive, 430mm carbon ceramic discs in the front - the biggest ever put on a sports car, they say. They need to be because stopping this thing is going to be like trying to halt a runaway train. Those brakes can handle temperatures over 2372°F. That's hotter than lava. Lava-proof brakes? 6-piston calipers up front and 4-piston at the back let the car stop from 112 mph ten times in a row without a smidgen of fade. If that ain't a perfect track tool, I don't know what is.
Inside, it's all Alcantara and carbon fiber. There are 25 speakers because Xiaomi wants you to feel the music as much as hear it. And a 10-point massage in the seats, because after you've been launched to warp speed, you're going to need it. I almost forgot - this thing weighs over 5,200 pounds, by the way. It's a heavy beast. Yet, it's faster than almost anything on the road. It proves that you can have your cake and eat it too, even if that cake is a two-and-a-half-ton electric rocket. Yum.
So, are you itching to buy it? I know I am, against my better judgement. But tough luck. 10,000 of these things sold out in just two hours. They hit their entire annual production limit before most people had finished their morning coffee. And here comes the best bit - they're planning to bring it to Europe! And although there are no official plans to bring it stateside, private import from the Old Continent opens up a lot of possibilities. I am already making room in the garage. Family van? Good as gone!
The Xiaomi SU7 Ultra is a fast, bright yellow middle finger to the automotive industry. It's a statement that says, "We're here, we're electric, and we're going to blow your doors off." And frankly, I can't wait to see it happen. The future of cars is absolutely bonkers.
Xiaomi is bringing the SU7 Ultra to Spain this weekend for the 2025 MWC. It's a half world away, but if you've got time and wanna get with this disruptor up close and personal, you better start looking for some last-minute ticket. I know I am. I only need a good excuse for the wife…
