Obviously, with the Apple car gone like the wind (along with ten billion greenbacks), the attention of tech fans moved over to Xiaomi, one of the first technology companies to potentially transition successfully into the automotive world.
The Xiaomi SU7, an all-electric full-size sedan developed by Chinese company Xiaomi Auto, a subsidiary of the (in)famous Chinese consumer electronics company Xiaomi, was presented with much fanfare to the public in late March in Beijing, China.
This is Xiaomi's first automobile, manufactured under contract by BAIC Off-road in Beijing. In case you were wondering, the SU in the moniker stands for 'Speed Ultra' while the 7 designates the market segment – and there are also three versions currently up for grabs at home in China: SU7, SU7 Pro, and SU7 Max.
Much has been said about the SU7 and its relative pricing – it's dubbed as yet another 'flagship killer' thanks to its performance credentials and lower pricing compared to the Tesla Model S and the Porsche Taycan, among others. Especially the latter seems to be a major target for the company, as much deliberations followed the car's design reveal and its likeness to the Taycan EV model.
Obviously, the parallels won't stop there – performance is also a factor, and while currently the SU7 Max only has 664 horsepower and all-wheel drive, more variants are set to follow that could jeopardize the hegemony of the Porsche Taycan Turbo S and Turbo GT, Tesla Model S Plaid, and even the Lucid Air Sapphire. There has been ample criticism of the mirror-like principles of design and the luxury approach but also a lot of praise for daring to leap head-on into the tumultuous automotive industry.
Anyway, most obviously, Xiaomi will end up bleeding more money than it can produce if they keep a one-model lineup. Already, the rumor mill believes there are plans in motion to introduce an electric crossover (already in the works) along with a truly affordable EV – and they may beat Tesla to the punch just yet. As for others, people also believe Xiaomi should further deepen its likeness to a Porsche flagship killer.
More precisely, someone across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators has created a two-door Xiaomi EV. This virtual artist, known as Theottle on social media, has recently resorted to CGI slicing and dicing the Xiaomi SU7 and Porsche 911 for a fresh coupe design that could see the former beat the latter to the sports car EV punch. It's interesting to note that the pixel master didn't need much time to morph the SU7 and Porsche 911 into an electric sports car (dubbed GL1) in the behind-the-scenes making-of video embedded below.
So, which one do you think will make it better – Porsche, which has promised that it will be as late as possible into the EV game with the all-electric 911 (but will get there nonetheless), or the new Xiaomi EV car kid on the block?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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