AI now drives faster than you, driverless Xiaomi YU7 GT sets Nurburgring lap record – 10:29.483

Xiaomi EV has set the world’s first lap record for fully autonomous driving at the famous Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. Using a Xiaomi YU7 GT fitted with the Track Package, the vehicle completed the 20.8-km ‘Green Hell’ entirely autonomously, without a human driver, recording a lap time of 10:29.483. While significantly slower than its official driver-assisted lap record of 7:22.755, the achievement is nonetheless impressive.

The test was conducted and officiated in accordance with the Nürburgring’s official timing procedures. As a result, the Nürburgring has introduced a new official subcategory, AUTONOMOUS DRIVING, under the ELECTRIC VEHICLES category.

During the record attempt, the Xiaomi YU7 GT autonomously negotiated all 73 corners of the Nordschleife, along with approximately 300 metres of elevation change. The Nürburgring Nordschleife combines high-speed sections with tight, low-speed technical corners, creating a circuit that closely resembles a mountain road. Coupled with varying grip levels and unpredictable weather conditions, it serves as a benchmark for vehicle engineering, development, and validation.

With this achievement, Xiaomi EV has validated the capability of its autonomous driving system under extreme dynamic driving conditions while demonstrating the potential unlocked by deep AI integration with advanced vehicle control. Although the Xiaomi YU7 GT’s autonomous record lap was more akin to a cruising pace, averaging around 119 km/h, it still reached a capped top speed of 210 km/h on the final straight.

Built on an end-to-end architecture and a vehicle dynamics model, Xiaomi’s autonomous driving system continuously analyses vehicle dynamics and road conditions in real time, using predictive algorithms to determine optimal control inputs. During high-speed and high-load driving, it seamlessly coordinates steering, braking, and power delivery to maintain stability while maximising vehicle control.