“Cooler than Tesla and Porsche”: Xiaomi has presented its SU7 electric car in two versions
Xiaomi has presented its first electric car SU7, which, according to the company, is more technologically advanced than Tesla and may even surpass Porsche.
Xiaomi, the Chinese brand that was once synonymous with affordable smartphones, is now preparing to launch its first electric car. Presented at the event in Beijing, Xiaomi SU7 is a sedan based on its own Modena Architecture with HyperEngine electric motors. The lineup has two variants: the twin-engine all-wheel drive SU7 Max and the single-engine rear-wheel drive SU7.
Xiaomi has not yet announced prices, but said that the SU7 Max has a range of up to 800 km (according to the Chinese CLTC light vehicle test cycle), and acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.78 seconds, which surpasses the performance of Tesla’s Model S and Porsche’s Taycan Turbo. This was made possible in part by battery manufacturer CATL’s 800-V, 101 kWh platform, which can restore a charge for a range of 220 km in 5 minutes, 390 km in 10 minutes, and 510 km in 15 minutes.
Xiaomi has hired talents from the automotive industry to implement this project. In particular, CEO Lei Jun said that Tianyuan Li, who previously worked on BMW’s iX and Vision series concepts, offered himself to Xiaomi’s car design team. Li was also joined by James Qiu, who previously worked on the design of the Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX. They later hired Chris Bengle, a BMW veteran, as a design consultant, Engadget reports.
The SU7 is about the same size as a BMW 5 Series: 1,440 mm high, 1,963 mm wide and 4,997 mm long. There are three color options: branded aqua blue, gray, or olive green. Lei emphasized that there is a lot of legroom in the cabin, and the trunk volume is 517 liters in the rear and 105 liters in the front.
At the presentation, Lei drew attention to such details as the headlights in the form of water droplets, each of which resembles the Chinese character for rice (mi in Xiaomi), as well as the 360-LED rear brake light halo.
The SU7 will offer an in-car entertainment system based on the HyperOS operating system, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8295 processor, which boots up in just 1.49 seconds. You can customize the seat or even control Xiaomi home appliances through the 16.1-inch 3K screen, as well as with optional Xiaomi Pad tablets, which can be mounted on magnetic ports (up to 22.5W) behind the two front headrests. The center screen interface allows you to use up to three split windows for multitasking, and you can even transfer your Xiaomi phone screen to it to ensure a seamless experience. There are 23 Dolby Atmos speakers for music and video entertainment.
