Image Credit: Xiaomi.
It has finally happened. The people who make my favorite budget smartphone and the robot vacuum that keeps trying to eat my socks have decided they're done with appliances. Xiaomi has officially entered the "I've got a bigger wing than you" club. They've just pulled the silk off their Vision Gran Turismo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, and it looks like something a stormtrooper would drive to a rave.
I'm usually as skeptical of tech companies making cars as I am of a gas station ham sandwich. Most of the time, they're just rolling boxes of software with the structural integrity of a wet cardboard box. But Xiaomi seems to have missed the memo about "sensible commuting." They gave us the SU7, then the unhinged SU7 Ultra, followed by the YU7 SUV and its 900-hp wild cousin. And now, Xiaomi has built a 1,900-horsepower electric monster - that's more power than a dozen mid-sized sedans and enough to give you a facelift every time you sneeze on the accelerator.
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
The heart of this beast - if you can call a battery a heart - is a 900-volt Silicon Carbide platform. I'm told it has very clever and very fast charging, but I suspect it's there purely to ensure you can reach Warp Factor 9 before the next traffic light. It's got more volts than a lightning storm and, presumably, enough torque to pull the Earth just a tad out of its orbit if you launch it too hard.
Visually, the thing is quite a trip. It's got massive venturi tunnels running underneath it, much like the Aston Martin Valkyrie. The idea is that air gets sucked under the car and spat out the back, pinning you to the pavement like a panicked gecko. Xiaomi's design chief, Li Tianyuan, says it has a drag coefficient of 0.29. That's very aerodynamic. Still, it's been "sculpted by the wind" - that's designer-speak for "we spent a lot of money in a wind tunnel and now our ears won't stop ringing."
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
The wheels are where things get truly weird. They've got these turbine fan rims with floating covers. When you're barreling down the road at speeds that you definitely shouldn't be, the covers stay still, making it look like the car is simply gliding on a cushion of pure ego. Behind those discs sit carbon-ceramic brakes - you'll definitely need them if you want to stop before you hit the next state. It's all very "Back to the Future," sans the flux capacitor.
Inside, the cockpit is what I'd call "intimate" - it's a carbon fiber monocoque with two seats squeezed in there like sardines in a tin. The panoramic head-up display spans the dashboard and the steering wheel wouldn't look out of place in a futuristic fighter jet. It even has five circular screens on the wheel, including a toggle for "drift mode" - nothing says "safety first" like a 1,900-hp smartphone on wheels going sideways at 100 mph.
Image Credit: Xiaomi.
The rear LED light bar that wraps around the back is actually quite stunning - it's a glowing Cylon eye watching you disappear into the distance. Of course, the Vision GT is just a digital dream for the Gran Turismo racing game. You can't actually buy one yet, which is a mercy for my insurance premium and the general public's safety.
Will we ever see a road-going version? Probably not in this extreme shape, unless the laws of physics and speed bumps suddenly decide to retire. But as a statement of intent, it's brilliantly mad. It's a mix of high-tech wizardry and complete lunacy. It's the second car from Xiaomi to go into the Gran Turismo and a second reason why I spend sleepless nights in my son's sim rig… That's not something a grown-up man should ever admit to, but I blame Xiaomi for that.
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