This EV becomes the first car to complete Nurburgring lap without a driver

Xiaomi has achieved a world-first autonomous driving milestone, with the YU7 GT completing the Nurburgring Nordschleife without a driver, prompting the iconic circuit to create a dedicated autonomous EV category.

Xiaomi EV has claimed a new milestone in autonomous driving technology after its YU7 GT successfully completed a full lap of the Nurburgring Nordschleife without a human driver behind the wheel. The run has been officially recognised by the Nurburgring, making it the world's first certified autonomous lap of the legendary circuit.

The Xiaomi YU7 GT, equipped with the optional Track Package, completed the 20.8km Nordschleife in 10 minutes and 29.483 seconds. The attempt was conducted under the Nrburgring's official timing and certification procedures. Following the achievement, the German circuit has introduced a new 'Autonomous Driving' category under Electric Vehicles, providing a formal benchmark for future autonomous vehicle records.

Often regarded as one of the toughest race circuits in the world, the Nurburgring Nordschleife features 73 corners, around 300 metres of elevation change and constantly evolving surface conditions. During the run, the YU7 GT autonomously negotiated the entire circuit, handling high-speed sections, technical corners and varying grip levels without any driver intervention.

According to Xiaomi, the vehicle relied on its end-to-end autonomous driving architecture, which continuously monitors road conditions and vehicle behaviour in real time. The system dynamically manages steering, braking and power delivery while predicting vehicle responses to maintain stability, particularly under demanding high-speed conditions.

The achievement also serves as a validation exercise for Xiaomi's latest autonomous driving technologies. The company introduced its next-generation autonomous platform in March 2026, built around the new Xiaomi XLA architecture and the MiMo-Embodied foundation model. Xiaomi says the upgraded system offers stronger environmental understanding and decision-making capabilities, enabling it to better interpret complex traffic scenarios and vehicle dynamics.

Beyond the record itself, Xiaomi says the Nurburgring project is helping engineers collect valuable data in extreme operating environments. Insights gathered from the test will be used to further refine vehicle dynamics models, control strategies and safety redundancy systems.

The autonomous driving milestone adds to Xiaomi's growing list of Nurburgring achievements. Earlier this year, the YU7 GT set a production SUV lap record at the circuit, while the SU7 Ultra prototype previously established itself as one of the fastest electric vehicles ever to tackle the Nordschleife.

With artificial intelligence playing an increasingly important role in vehicle development, Xiaomi says it will continue to use real-world testing and engineering validation to accelerate the development of future autonomous driving technologies.

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