Xiaomi SU7 Ultra’s Track Performance Wins High Praise from 'Gran Turismo' Creator; Lei Jun Hailed as "Modern Chinese Hero"

During the Beijing International Auto Show on April 27, Kazunori Yamauchi, producer of the Gran Turismo (GT) racing game series, posted a photo on social media showing him alongside Xiaomi Group CEO Lei Jun and his executive team. In both Chinese and English captions, Yamauchi hailed Lei Jun as "one of the heroic figures of modern China" and expressed his honor at meeting him. The photo was taken at Xiaomi’s exhibition booth, with the company’s logo clearly visible in the background, reflecting a warm and friendly interaction between both parties. Yamauchi, who has long collaborated with top international automakers such as Bugatti and Porsche, rarely bestows such high praise publicly on corporate leaders. His remarks are widely seen as a strong endorsement of Xiaomi and the performance capabilities of its electric vehicles. Both the prototype and production versions of Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra have set lap records at the Nürburgring Nordschleife circuit. Yamauchi previously remarked that the vehicle “achieves the level of physics and chassis dynamics found in Gran Turismo 7.” Additionally, Xiaomi has become the first Chinese brand ever invited to join the Vision Gran Turismo (VGT) project. Its inaugural Vision GT concept hypercar made its domestic debut and was publicly unveiled at this year’s Beijing Auto Show.