Vision Gran Turismo - Xiaomi's first digital hypercar

After upsetting the competition with its road-going EVs, Xiaomi is now taking its talents to the virtual race track. The brand unveiled the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo in Barcelona, a digital hypercar designed specifically for the popular racing game Gran Turismo 7. This makes Xiaomi the first pure technology brand to join the Vision Gran Turismo Project, a collection of concept cars created by the world's most famous automakers.

Designing a car for a video game might sound like a simple task, but Xiaomi treated it like a real-world engineering challenge. The design team, led by Tianyuan Li, focused on a "sculpted by the wind" philosophy. The car looks like a teardrop from above, with the cockpit tucked into a body full of air ducts and cutouts. These shapes help the car cut through the air while staying glued to the ground.

The Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo features some very specific technical numbers that will excite fans of electric cars. Through many rounds of computer testing, the team achieved a drag coefficient of 0.29. More importantly, the car produces a downforce of -1.2 and has an aerodynamic efficiency rating of 4.1. In plain English, this means the car is slippery enough to go very fast in a straight line but has enough air pushing down on it to take corners at high speeds.

Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo - source: ArenaEV

The digital hypercar is the first to have tech called the Active Wake Control System. This works alongside special "Accretion Rims" to manage how air flows around the wheels. Even the taillights have a job - they are shaped like a halo and act as a massive air outlet to help with cooling and stability. This balance between low drag and high downforce is what impressed Kazunori Yamauchi, the creator of the Gran Turismo series, who called the car a "role model" for the modern era.

Inside the cabin, Xiaomi went in a completely opposite direction to most race cars and created the "Sofa Racer" concept. The dashboard, doors, and seats all flow together in one smooth loop, creating a cocoon-like space that's more of a lounge than a cockpit. Since Xiaomi is a tech company first, the car is fully connected to their "Human x Car x Home" smart ecosystem.

The VGT has a feature called Xiaomi Pulse - it uses light and sound to interact with whoever is behind the wheel. It can sense how the driver is feeling and adapt the car's atmosphere to match their mood. It turns the vehicle from a simple machine into a digital companion.

This project follows the success of the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, which recently set records at the Nürburgring race track in Germany. By putting the Vision Gran Turismo into a game played by millions, the company is showing that it can compete with traditional car brands like Ferrari or Porsche. It proves that the future of fast cars might come from companies that started by making smartphones.

Players will be able to enjoy driving this high-tech machine in Gran Turismo 7 on their PlayStation consoles soon. It offers a glimpse into a world where electric cars are defined by smart software and clever aerodynamics. The VGT might only exist in a digital world for now, but the lessons Xiaomi learned while designing it will likely show up in their future road cars.

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