"While considering what form to take for an electric hypercar without an engine, we decided to discard the existing mold and pioneer a new path. 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 out the rear."
Li Tianyuan, head of Xiaomi's 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 communications trade 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 title of the event that day was "The new wave of imagery." Most attendees visiting the venue thought it was an occasion to introduce the flagship smartphones Xiaomi '17' and '17 Ultra,' because those models emphasize camera functions. However, 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 the Vision Gran Turismo was designed with aerodynamics in mind. For a hypercar, it is important to minimize drag for overwhelming straight-line speed while balancing "downforce," which presses the car onto the road when cornering. Chief Tianyuan said, "When the system activates, Vision Gran Turismo pushes the turbulence at the rear far away from the body like an 'invisible hand,' effectively reducing 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 air resistance a vehicle encounters 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 released the SU7 Ultra and the YU7 electric sport utility vehicle (SUV), and sales also performed well. Xiaomi said it received a proposal for collaboration on building a hypercar at the Gran Turismo World Series esports event in London, U.K., last year. The company said, "Hypercars are typically made by traditional car brands, including Porsche, and this is the first time a tech company, not a traditional automaker, has built a hyper concept car, which is highly meaningful."
Chief Tianyuan said, "In the past, we had to manage cars, but Xiaomi EVs integrate seamlessly with personal devices, detect the driver's condition, and optimize to match their mood." Lu Weibing, president of Xiaomi's smart division, also said, "Xiaomi is the world's only corporations with an ecosystem that organically connects 'people, home, and car,' spanning strategy, products, core technologies, and manufacturing," adding, "Xiaomi will invest €24 billion (40.9992 trillion won) in core technologies over the next five years."
◇ '17 Ultra' emphasizes the camera… to launch in Korea in March
The Xiaomi 17 and 17 Ultra, whose global launch was announced that day, are models that were already released in China in Dec. last year. Xiaomi typically uses a strategy of releasing new products first in the Chinese market and then sequentially in global markets. In Korea, preorders will be taken from Mar. 3 and deliveries will be made 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.
The Xiaomi 17 Ultra strengthens collaboration with German camera brand Leica and comes equipped with a 14mm ultra-wide camera, a 23mm main camera with a 1-inch image sensor, and a 200-megapixel telephoto camera supporting the 75–100mm range. For the mobile AP (application processor) that serves as the brain, Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation is installed. The operating systems are Android 16 and Xiaomi's HyperOS 3. The display is 6.9 inches, and peak brightness is up to 3,500 nits. Despite packing a large 6,800mAh battery, the thickness is 8.29mm, making it the thinnest among Xiaomi Ultra models.
The standard Xiaomi 17 has a 6.36-inch display, smaller than the Ultra model. It uses the same Snapdragon 8 Elite 5th generation chipset as the Ultra and has three rear cameras, including a 50-megapixel main camera. The battery capacity is 6,330mAh.
◇ Xiaomi is No. 3 in Europe by market share, but shipments edge down
On the surface, Xiaomi's unveiling of new products at a separate venue before the opening of MWC aims to boost recognition and market share in Europe, but in fact it is to raise media and public attention. It is a form of preemptive strike. If it revealed new products at MWC, it would be hard to stand out among other brands' launches. Moreover, with Samsung having unveiled its flagship Galaxy S26 series three days earlier, creating a tit-for-tat dynamic is not a bad timing for Xiaomi, which is seeking to leap from a value-for-money brand to a premium brand.
According to market research firm Omdia, Xiaomi ranked as the No. 3 smartphone brand in the European market by shipments last year with a 16% share, following Samsung (35%) and Apple (27%). Its 2024 share was also 16%. Redmi, Xiaomi's value-for-money lineup, sold well. However, the situation is not entirely rosy. Xiaomi's shipments last year were 21.8 million units, down slightly by about 400,000 units from 2024. Late last year, Xiaomi pursued a strategy of increasing store openings across Europe, but year-end conditions were not favorable. According to Counterpoint Research, Xiaomi's fourth-quarter share last year was 16%, down 2 percentage points (pp) from the previous year. 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."