Exactly as the title suggests, a lap record was set on the infamous Nürburgring circuit without a driver behind the wheel. This marks the world’s first autonomous lap around the 20.83 km circuit, with the maiden record set by the Xiaomi YU7 GT in 10:29.483.
Granted, that is not a fast lap by any means. It is three minutes and seven seconds slower than when a human driver piloted the same YU7 GT around the Green Hell in 7:22.755. However, records are meant to be broken, so perhaps we will one day see an autonomous car blast around the circuit quicker than any human driver can manage.
Xiaomi did not reveal if it has added new computers to the YU7 GT that achieved the lap record. In standard guise, the brain of the production car consists of an Nvidia Drive AGX Thor processor delivering 700 TOPS of computing power.
This single chip manages a vast array of hardware, including a LiDAR sensor, a millimetre-wave radar, 12 ultrasonic sensors, 12 exterior cameras, a sub-metre high-precision positioning system, and a road surface perception system. This setup powers advanced autonomous features like point-to-point parking navigation, high-speed and city navigation assist, and is even capable of learning an owner’s usual parking routes.
RELATED: Xiaomi YU7 GT launches in China with yet another Nürburgring record
Aside from digital wizardry, the Xiaomi YU7 GT boasts some serious muscle. Its dual-motor powertrain produces 1,003 hp and 1,068 Nm of torque, enabling a back-breaking 0-100 km/h sprint of 2.92 seconds before the SUV tops out at 300 km/h.
These 1,003 horses are fed by a 101.7 kWh NMC battery, which enables a range of 705 km under the optimistic CLTC cycle. This battery supports ultra-fast 5C charging, allowing it to recharge from 10-80% in 12 minutes, or regain 570 km of range with a brief 15-minute recharge.
ALSO READ: Government announces nationwide subsidised diesel at RM2.10 per litre beginning July 2026
