This is Xiaomi’s vision of a swoopy all-electric hypercar

The latest car company invited to design a Vision Gran Turismo concept car… isn’t actually a car company at all.

Yep, this is the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo, and its makers are particularly proud of the fact that this is “the first time a technology company has been invited to join the elite Vision Gran Turismo project”.

Of course, Xiaomi – which is the third largest smartphone maker in the world behind Samsung and Apple – does now make electric cars, but it only unveiled its SU7 saloon for the first time in late 2023. Quite the rapid rise. And while the Vision Gran Turismo will only live in the virtual world, a future hypercar might not be completely out of the question given it already produces the 1,527bhp SU7 Ultra.

Anyway, to the concept. Xiaomi says that its swoopy, teardrop-shaped hypercar merges “cutting-edge aerodynamics with AI-driven intelligence”.

We’re told that the design philosophy was ‘Sculpted by the Wind’, and that the plan was to create something without a giant wing on the back but that still generated enough downforce.

That means the underbody is doing most of the work, with giant channels funnelling virtual air towards the rear of the car. At the back there’s a massive “halo-shaped taillight”, but also something called an ‘Active Wake Control System’ that seemingly uses a blast of air to push the turbulent air further away from the rear of the car.

The wheels are also pretty neat, with a semi-transparent cover that uses magnets to stay perfectly still while the wheel turns behind it. Oh, and the interior foregoes bucket seats in favour of a giant single piece sofa-style seat. Looks comfy, although the screen across the bottom of the dashboard has more than a hint of BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive setup.

“Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo is not about chasing extremes on any single metric, but about delivering peak efficiency through perfectly balanced aerodynamics, reaching new heights in the balance between low drag and high downforce for electric hypercars,” reads the press release.

“The invitation itself was a recognition of what Xiaomi has achieved,” said design boss Tianyuan Li. “It allowed our teams in Munich, Beijing, and Shanghai to collaborate, to push boundaries, and to envision what a future hypercar could look like when designed without limits.” Like it?