Xiaomi (小米) Loses Third Place in Nürburgring Overall Rankings to American Gasoline Car

Race result

It has been reported that Ford’s semi‑production GT MK IV lapped the Nürburgring Nordschleife in 6:15.59, vaulting it into third place on the overall leaderboard and displacing a prototype Xiaomi SU7 Ultra that briefly held the spot. The GT MK IV, reportedly one of 67 non‑road‑legal examples built, is now listed as the fastest gasoline‑powered car on the overall table — behind two hybrid/electric entries — in a leaderboard that has seen unusually rapid turnover the past two years.

What makes the GT MK IV special

Why did a combustion‑engine car beat a string of high‑powered EVs? The answer appears to be weight, aero and finely tuned race hardware. It has been reported that the GT MK IV weighs about 1,250 kg thanks to extensive carbon‑fibre structure and bespoke Multimatic redesign, that its EcoBoost V6 has been stroked to 3.8L and boosted to over 800 hp, and that advanced aero generates more than 2,000 kg of downforce at 200 mph. Multimatic’s ASV dampers and carbon‑carbon brakes — plus driver Frederic Vervisch’s assessment that “this car is a weapon, an extension of your will” — are said to have delivered the balance and stability that won the lap.

Context and implications

The run is also a statement from Ford Racing: after rebranding from Ford Performance, the marque has publicly pushed to collapse the barrier between race tech and road cars — from F1 engine collaborations to Pikes Peak entries for the Mach‑E. For Chinese readers used to seeing domestic EVs like Xiaomi’s SU7 Ultra and Voyah/U9X chase Nürburgring bragging rights, the GT MK IV’s result is a reminder that internal‑combustion engineering still has niche dominance in raw track performance. It has been reported that the GT MK IV is not a mass‑market product; so is this a meaningful setback for Chinese EV prestige, or simply a motorsport‑era outlier? Either way, the leaderboard drama highlights how global competition — technical, commercial and even geopolitical — is intensifying on Europe’s most famous circuit.