Xiaomi has already shown by setting multiple lap records that it knows its way around the Nurburgring. Now the Chinese smartphone giant turned EV maker looks set to prove its cars can find their way around without anyone touching the steering wheel. Whether they’ll find their way around quickly is another question entirely.

An Instagram post from @rollendereporter appears to reveal Xiaomi’s latest Nürburgring achievement before the company has had a chance to announce it. The behind-the-scenes image shows a Xiaomi-contracted photographer setting up a hero shot of a Lidar-equipped YU7 SUV beside an official Nurburgring plaque carrying the words “Nordschleife Autonomous Driving Prototype.”

Related: Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra Held The EV Nurburgring Crown, Until Porsche Wanted It Back

The plaque also includes the words “Official lap time,” though frustratingly, the actual number isn’t visible in the published image. Pressed by followers in the comments, @rollendereporter admitted he could read the lap time in the original photo. But while he stopped short of revealing the number, he did offer a clue that might take some of the shine off Xiaomi’s upcoming announcement.

“It’s hard to see here, but I can read the numbers on the original photo,” he wrote. “Let’s just say it’s a lot quicker to take the wheel in your own hands 😅😂”

Some commenters were surprised to learn that an official autonomous driving category even exists. Others questioned what the point of such a record might be when the whole appeal of the Nürburgring is seeing what happens when talented drivers and fast machines are pushed to their limits.

YU7 Is Already In The Ring Record Books

Still, Xiaomi clearly enjoys collecting Nürburgring silverware. Just last month, the 990 hp (1,003 PS) YU7 GT grabbed the SUV lap record with a 7 minute 22.755 second run, beating the Audi RS Q8’s previous benchmark by almost 4 seconds.

Before that, the 1,527 hp (1,548 PS) SU7 Ultra sedan clocked a stunning 7 minute 4.957 second lap, taking both the fastest EV and fastest four-door production car crowns from the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. Porsche has since snatched it back with a 6:55 time thanks to some Manthey tuning and new Pirelli Trofeo RS tires.

So how fast do you think Xiaomi’s driverless YU7 went around the Nürburgring? And more importantly, would you be brave enough to ride shotgun while it tried to go faster?

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Xiaomi just can’t stop snatching Nurburgring lap records away from its European rivals. After the SU7 Ultra grabbed the four-door record in late 2024 before losing it again to the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Manthey, the company has returned to take the outright production SUV record.

With chief test driver Ren Zhoucan behind the wheel, the new YU7 GT went around the Nordschleife in 7:34.931. That figure is enough to displace the Audi RS Q8’s 7:36.698, which itself had taken the record from the Porsche Cayenne Turbo GT Coupe at 7:38.925.

Read: Xiaomi’s 990 HP Family SUV Costs Less Than A Base Macan EV And Outguns The Turbo

There is, predictably with most Nurburgring record runs, an asterisk. The YU7 GT that set the time wasn’t the standard, or base, if you will, version you buy from a Xiaomi dealer. The Chinese carmaker says the vehicle was equipped with what appears to be an optional “Track Professional Package,” which sounds a lot like the Manthey upgrades Porsche uses for its record-setting cars.

Xiaomi has at least spelled out part of the kit. The package brings 265mm front and 325mm rear semi-slick tires, along with widened rear wheel arches to cover them. But there’s more.

“At the Nürburgring’s request, we performed safety modifications inside the car, including a full-cage roll cage, racing bucket seats, and six-point harnesses,” the company said. “We also removed some interior trim to balance the added weight of the roll cage. This is a production car that has passed the Nürburgring’s official certification and testing.”

The onboard video tells you the rest. The cage is in, the rear seats are gone, and the driver is sitting in what looks like a single lightweight bucket.

That said, the previous record holder in the category wasn’t exactly bone stock either. The RS Q8 also ran the mandatory roll cage and what looks from the video to be a lightweight safety bucket, with the rear bench pulled out for the run as well.

What Powers It?

Xiaomi presented the YU7 GT to the world at last month’s Beijing Auto Show. While not as extreme as the SU7 Ultra, it still offers the kind of power and performance once reserved for multi-million-dollar hypercars and previously unthinkable for a luxury SUV.

Beneath the skin is a 101.7 kWh battery pack that drives a 386 hp electric motor at the front wheels and a 604 hp motor at the rear wheels, delivering a combined 990 hp. There’s no official word yet on how quickly it can hit 100 km/h (62 mph), but it should leave most performance SUVs sold in the West for dead off the line.

Aiding in the YU7 GT’s on-track prowess is the fact that it uses a trick suspension that offers adjustability for the compression, rebound, and ride height, a setup that was specifically honed at the Nurburgring.

The Porsche Taycan Turbo GT was already the apex predator of Zuffenhausen’s electric lineup, but Porsche apparently decided that wasn’t enough. The flagship sedan has just been treated to a new Manthey Kit, layered on top of the existing Weissach Package, and the result is a 6:55.553 lap of the Nürburgring with development driver Lars Kern at the wheel.

That impressive time is 12 seconds quicker than a standard Taycan Turbo GT and more than nine seconds clear of the production-spec Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s 7:04.957, which means Porsche has clawed back the title of fastest production EV in the executive segment after watching the Chinese newcomer take it last year. It is worth noting that a Xiaomi prototype clocked an even more impressive 6:22:091 in June 2025, although that doesn’t count as a production EV.

More: The Manthey Porsche Just Ran A Near-Perfect Nürburgring Lap. A Mustang Still Beat It

The Manthey Kit is the product of a joint effort between Porsche’s Weissach development center and Manthey’s engineers in Meuspath, with the brief drawn straight from motorsport. The package includes a reworked aero kit, a more potent powertrain, lighter wheels, track-focused tires, and a retuned suspension.

It Looks Like A Race Car

Visually, the Manthey-prepped Taycan Turbo GT goes full track weapon, with an aggressive carbon fiber aero kit doing most of the talking. The nose gets an adjustable splitter flanked by canards and GT3-style gills cut into the fenders.

More: Honda’s Civic Type R Held This Record For 3 Years, VW’s 321 HP Golf Just Took It Back

The profile gains wider fender extensions, deeper side skirts, and lighter 21-inch forged aluminum wheels fitted with carbon aero discs on the rear axle. The new wheels use titanium bolts, cut 6 pounds (2.7 kg) of unsprung mass, and wear wider performance tires. Around back, Porsche added a boxier diffuser and a larger manually adjustable rear wing.

According to Porsche, the Manthey upgrades generate more than three times the downforce of the standard model. At 200 km/h (124 mph), the car produces 310 kg (683 lbs) of downforce, up from 95 kg (209 lbs). That figure climbs to 740 kg (1,631 lbs) at the top speed of 309 km/h (192 mph), which is 5 km/h (3 miles) faster than before.

More Power, More Speed

As for the power boost, the combined output of the electric powertrain rises to 804 hp (600 kW / 815 PS) in standard form and 978 hp (730 kW / 993 PS) in Attack mode. Those figures mark increases of 27 hp and 40 hp respectively over the Taycan Turbo GT.

More: Porsche’s Next Sedan Could Replace Both The Panamera And Taycan

When launch control is activated, total output remains at 1,019 hp (760 kW / 1,033 PS), but maximum torque climbs by 22 lb-ft (30 Nm) to 936 lb-ft (1,269 Nm). Even so, those figures still fall short of the rival Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which produces 1,526 hp (1,138 kW / 1,548 PS) and 1,770 Nm (1,305 lb-ft) of torque.

The added downforce and extra power are paired with a revised setup for the Porsche Active Ride suspension, four-wheel steering, and AWD systems. Braking performance has also been upgraded with 440 mm (17.3 inches) front discs and performance brake pads.

Porsche development driver Lars Kern said the Manthey Kit turns the Taycan Turbo GT with Weissach Package into “the ultimate track tool.” The upgrades allowed him to carry 14 km/h (8.7 mph) more speed through the “Lauda-Lefthander” section of the Nurburgring compared to his previous run.

Ford has made a habit of creating wild all-electric performance machines, such as the SuperVan 4.2, the F-150 Lightning SuperTruck, and the Super Mustang Mach-E. It’s now revealed its latest other-worldly EV, and this one is all about smashing records on the drag strip.

Dubbed the Mustang Cobra Jet 2200, it’s the third all-electric Cobra Jet Ford has built, starting with the 1400 in 2021, and then the 1800 in 2023. As you may have guessed from its name, the new Mustang Cobra Jet 2200 churns out 2,200 hp, a truly astonishing figure that easily eclipses even the Rimac Nevera and Pininfarina Battista hypercars.

Read: You’ve Never Seen A Mustang Mach-E Like This One

Driving the Cobra Jet 2200 are two electric motors. These can each produce around 1,200 hp and weigh roughly half as much as they did in the Cobra Jet 1800 from just three years ago.

Despite being an EV, the Cobra Jet 2200 uses a centrifugal clutch to deliver torque in a controlled manner at launch. It also uses a two-speed transmission and includes a battery on the undertray and two additional battery packs at the rear. There’s also a battery at the front, which can be moved to adjust the weight distribution depending on track conditions.

The Power Of Electric

What’s particularly impressive about the Cobra Jet 2200 is that not only does it have way more power than the 1800, but it also weighs about 1,100 lbs (499 kg) less than its predecessor, tipping the scales at roughly 3,325 lbs (1,500 kg). According to Ford, the combination of immense power, the clutch, transmission, and the relatively light overall weight, the Cobra Jet 2200 apparently needs just 6.76 seconds to run down the quarter-mile, hitting up to 222 mph.

Ford Racing took the car to the NHRA 4-Wide Nationals in Charlotte over the weekend and performed several sub-7-second sprints down the quarter-mile. It quickly set a new world record for an EV with a time of 6.87 seconds at 221 mph, but in a subsequent run, it lowered it to 6.81 seconds.

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