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Over the past year, enthusiasts have watched Ford and Chevrolet duel for the title of fastest American production car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife. However, a Chinese electric SUV has quietly made its own mark at the legendary circuit. Earlier this month, the Xiaomi YU7 GT equipped with the Track Package recorded an official lap time of 10:29.483 — and remarkably, it did so with no driver in the seat.

According to Nürburgring officials, the lap took place on June 8 and marked the first time in the track’s history that a fully autonomous vehicle completed an officially timed lap of the Nordschleife. Following this groundbreaking achievement, the circuit introduced a brand-new official category: Autonomous Driving (under Electric Vehicles).

Although Xiaomi may not yet be a widely recognised name in the United States (unless you ask Ford CEO Jim Farley), the company is no stranger to the Nürburgring. In 2023, its SU7 Ultra set an electric vehicle lap record around the same circuit with a time of 7:04.957, outperforming both the Rimac Nevera Time Attack and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT.

To put things in perspective, Ford’s Mustang GTD Competition achieved a lap time of 6:40.835 earlier this year, while the Mercedes-AMG One still holds the all-time production car record at 6:29.09. The late Sabine Schmitz famously managed to drive a 136-horsepower diesel-powered Ford Transit around the ‘Ring more than 20 seconds quicker than the autonomous Xiaomi. Meanwhile, a human-driven YU7 GT completed the circuit in 7:22.755 on April 2. Clearly, adding a driver to the 990-horsepower electric SUV can trim more than three minutes off the lap time.

Footage of the record-setting run on the Nürburgring’s official YouTube channel shows that the Xiaomi YU7 GT’s autonomous system didn’t hit every apex perfectly, and its speeds were notably lower than those of driver-controlled runs. Even on the long straight from the Gantry to the Bridge, the car never exceeded 131 mph — in comparison, the same vehicle with a driver behind the wheel reached 185 mph on that stretch.

While the Xiaomi YU7 GT’s autonomous lap wasn’t quick enough to challenge any outright performance records, that wasn’t the goal. The achievement demonstrated that a fully self-driving vehicle could safely navigate all 73 corners of the Nordschleife — one of the most demanding circuits in the world. Whether it inspires excitement or apprehension among enthusiasts, this lap marks a milestone moment in automotive history.