Xiaomi SU7: A Chinese Rocket that Gives Porsche Engineers Sleepless Nights
Well, well, well... Did Santa deliver this year, or what? Xiaomi, the same folks who brought us budget-friendly smartphones and more chargers than you could ever need, have officially thrown their hat into the electric car ring. And let me tell you, it's not your typical hat. Oh no. And with all the intent and purpose, they call it the SU7 - Speed Ultra, because apparently, Xiaomi believes in transparency when it comes to naming things.
Now, when Xiaomi says "Speed Ultra," they're not kidding. This thing could give a Tesla a run for its electrons. Not the Plaid version though, but still a good run. With dimensions that mimic a Porsche, it's not just another electric car from China; it's a statement. And let's be honest, who wouldn't want to make a statement with their car? Mine usually says, "I forgot to fill up the tank again."
At first glance, the SU7 looks like it's auditioning for a role in the next "Fast and Furious" movie. But hey, if Xiaomi can make smartphones that can outpace the competition, why not cars? The SU7 measures in at 4,997 mm in length, 1,963 mm in width, and 1,455 mm in height. For those of you who didn't memorize your car dimensions, that's roughly the size of a small house in some parts of the world. Or, accidentally, a few centimeters more (here and there) than our good old Model S.
The SU7 claims to have the lowest wind resistance among production cars globally, with a Cd of 0.195. To put that into perspective, it's like driving a needle through butter - if the needle had wheels and a very energy-efficient electric motor. Xiaomi seems to be taking aerodynamics seriously, as if the SU7 is preparing for a space launch rather than a casual drive to the grocery store.
Under the hood (or wherever EVs keep their non-existent engines), the SU7 packs a punch. The dual-motor version cranks out 673 horsepower (or roughly the power of a small herd of horses) and an impressive 838 Nm of torque. Xiaomi claims it can go from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.78 seconds, leaving the Porsche Taycan and Tesla Model S questioning their credentials.
The real hero of this electric epic is the Qilin Battery from CATL, with a whopping 101 kWh capacity. Xiaomi boldly declares that a 5-minute charge can get you 220 km (that's about the time it takes to order and devour a pizza). A 15-minute charge? A staggering 510 km. The dual-motor four-wheel-drive version even promises an eye-watering CLTC range of 800 km, making range anxiety seem like a distant memory.
The 800 km sounds like a lot and, partly due to the CLTC cycle being as optimistic as a cat expecting a fish dinner from a tofu factory, it's not going to happen in real-life conditions. It seems Xiaomi has taken that into account and it is already working on a 150 kWh battery pack with a promise of 1,200 km. Did someone say 'go big or go home'? It seems Xiaomi is staying.
The SU7 isn't just throwing punches in the horsepower department; it's a heavyweight in the technology ring too. Xiaomi claims it has integrated technology that consolidates parts and streamlines production. Tesla may have the Gigacasting but Xiaomi takes it up a notch (at least in the name-game) - say hello to Hyper Casting. They've invested more money than I've spent on coffee in the last decade in their battery pack production plant. And they've teamed up with CATL to develop an 800 V architecture. It's like they're playing chess while the other automakers are figuring out how to assemble the pieces.
The smart cockpit of the SU7 is not just a place where you sit and pretend to know what all those buttons do. Powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 chip, it boasts a 16.1-inch center screen with 3K resolution. I didn't even know we needed 3K resolution in a car until Xiaomi told me we did.
And if that wasn't enough, the smart driving system runs on not one but two Nvidia Orin X chips, delivering a total computing power of 508 TOPS. For those not fluent in tech jargon, that's like having a supercomputer in your glove compartment. Because why not? Who doesn't want their car to have the computational power of a NASA control center?
Xiaomi's CEO, Lei Jun, is aiming for the stars with this one. He wants Xiaomi not only to be among the top five global car manufacturers in 15-20 years but also to be a top-tier player in the smart driving space by 2024. That's as optimistic as a kid asking for a pony for Christmas.
But let's be real here. The electric vehicle market isn't exactly an empty highway waiting for newcomers to zoom in. It's more like a crowded parking lot with Tesla hogging all the prime spots, and established players eyeing the few remaining spaces like hungry vultures. Xiaomi's SU7 may have the speed and the specs, but breaking into this market is like trying to convince your grandma to switch from her flip phone to a smartphone – it's going to take some serious convincing.
The Xiaomi SU7 has thrown down the gauntlet, and it's a gauntlet made of high-tech materials and powered by electrons. Whether it's a serious contender in the electric vehicle arena or just another tech giant flexing its muscles, only time will tell. But for now, let's applaud Xiaomi for injecting some speed and a healthy dose of style into the world of electric cars.
