The Xiaomi YU7 GT has become the first vehicle to set an official autonomous lap record at Germany’s famous Nürburgring Nordschleife race track.

The self-driving Chinese electric vehicle went around the 20.8-kilometre circuit in a time of 10:29:483 minutes.

In terms of pace, that’s not particularly quick when compared to human-driven performance cars at the track.

The same Xiaomi YU7 GT, by the way, holds Nürburgring’s SUV lap record, which was set earlier this year when driver Vincent Radermecker managed a time of 7:22:755 minutes.

Radermecker went around the track more than three minutes quicker than what the same vehicle managed autonomously.

But, the record marks a significant achievement in vehicular technology and offers a glimpse of what the future of mobility looks like.

The Nordschleife, one of two tracks at Nürburgring, is referred to as “the Green Hell.” The 20.832-kilometre circuit is considered the gold standard for testing vehicle performance due to its demanding layout.

It features 73 corners, more than 300 metres of elevation changes and a narrow track width.

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