"As we considered what form to give an electric hypercar without an engine, we decided to discard the existing mold and blaze a new trail. Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo is designed so that air is drawn in from the front, passes through the body's air tunnel, and then exits efficiently at the rear."
Li Tianyuan, Xiaomi's head of electric vehicle (EV) design, said this on the 28th at Palau de Congressos de Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain, two days before the opening of the world's largest mobile show, MWC, as he announced the development of the electric hypercar Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo. The actual car will be displayed on-site at MWC.
The event title that day was "The New Wave of Imagery." Most attendees who visited the venue thought it would be a session introducing the flagship smartphones "Xiaomi 17" and "17 Ultra," because those models emphasize camera features. But contrary to expectations, when the hypercar was revealed through video, applause followed from the audience.
◇ "As turbulence is pushed away from the body, drag is reduced"
Xiaomi emphasized that Vision Gran Turismo was designed with aerodynamics in mind. For a hypercar, it is important to minimize drag for overwhelming speed on straights while balancing it with "downforce" that presses the car onto the road in corners. Head Tianyuan said, "When the system is engaged, Vision Gran Turismo pushes the rear turbulence far away from the body like an 'invisible hand,' effectively reducing aerodynamic drag."
As a result, Vision Gran Turismo achieved a drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.29, downforce of -1.2, and an aerodynamic efficiency index of 4.1. The aerodynamic efficiency index indicates how little drag a vehicle experiences while simultaneously generating downforce effectively.
An intelligent assistant, Xiaomi Pulse, is applied to the hypercar's dashboard. The system interacts with the driver through sound and light.
Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo is a concept car to showcase technology and will not be sold. This is not the first time Xiaomi has unveiled an EV. After introducing its first EV, the SU7, in 2024, Xiaomi rolled out the SU7 Ultra and the electric sport-utility vehicle (SUV) YU7, and sales succeeded. Xiaomi said it received a proposal for hypercar production collaboration at the Gran Turismo World Series esports event in London last year. The company said, "Hypercars are typically made by traditional automakers, including Porsche, and it is significant that a technology company, not a traditional automaker, has created a hyper concept car for the first time."
Head Tianyuan said, "In the past, we had to manage our cars, but Xiaomi EVs integrate seamlessly with personal devices, detect the driver's condition, and optimize to their mood." Lu Weibing, president of Xiaomi's smart division, also said, "Xiaomi is the world's only company with an ecosystem that organically connects 'people, home, and car,' spanning strategy, product, core technology, and manufacturing," adding, "Xiaomi will invest €24 billion (40.9992 trillion won) in core technologies over the next five years."
◇ '17 Ultra' emphasizes cameras… to launch in Korea in March
Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, whose global launch was announced that day, are models that already launched in China in Dec. last year. Xiaomi generally follows a strategy of launching new products first in the Chinese market and then sequentially in global markets. In Korea, preorders will be taken from Mar. 3 and delivery will begin five days later. Prices start at €999 (1.7 million won) for the 17 and €1,499 (2.55 million won) for the 17 Ultra.
Xiaomi 17 Ultra strengthens its cooperation with German camera brand Leica and comes equipped with a 14 mm ultra-wide camera, a 23 mm main camera with a 1-inch image sensor, and a 200-megapixel telephoto camera covering the 75–100 mm range. For the mobile AP (application processor) that serves as the brain, it uses Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation. The operating system is Android 16 with Xiaomi's HyperOS 3. The display measures 6.9 inches, with peak brightness of up to 3,500 nits. Despite housing a large 6,800 mAh battery, its thickness is 8.29 mm, the thinnest among Xiaomi Ultra models.
The standard Xiaomi 17 has a 6.36-inch display, smaller than the Ultra model. It is equipped with the same Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation chipset as the Ultra, and the rear houses three cameras, including a 50-megapixel main camera. The battery capacity is 6,330 mAh.
◇ Xiaomi is the No. 3 brand by market share in Europe, but shipments dipped slightly
On the surface, Xiaomi unveiling new products at a separate venue before MWC opens is to raise its recognition and market share in Europe, but in fact it is to increase media and public attention. It is a kind of preemptive move. If it unveiled products at MWC, it would be hard to stand out among other brands' new devices. With Samsung having introduced its flagship Galaxy S26 series three days earlier, forming a tit-for-tat dynamic is not bad timing for Xiaomi as it seeks to leap from a value-for-money brand to a premium brand.
According to market research firm Omdia, Xiaomi was the No. 3 smartphone brand in Europe last year by shipments, with a 16% share, behind Samsung (35%) and Apple (27%). Its share in 2024 was also 16%. Redmi, Xiaomi's value-for-money lineup, sold well. But the situation is not all rosy. Xiaomi's shipments last year were 21.8 million units, a slight decrease of about 400,000 units from 2024. Late last year, Xiaomi pursued a strategy of expanding store openings across Europe, but the year-end environment was not favorable. According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi's market share in the fourth quarter last year was 16%, down 2 percentage points (pp) from a year earlier. During the same period, shipments fell 6%.
Counterpoint Research said, "The flagship smartphone 'Xiaomi 15T Pro' failed to match the sales performance of the popular 14T."