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The Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo (Xiaomi VGT) is coming to Gran Turismo 7 during October 2026. It arrives with the first wave of the free Spec IV mega-update, which has been announced for October 15. It is the 51st car in the Vision Gran Turismo program, and the first time a Chinese brand’s car has appeared in Gran Turismo.
Landing at the same time is the first EV-only driving lesson in the series’ 30-year history. It uses the Xiaomi VGT and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra to teach the handling characteristics of electric cars. Gameplay footage debuted at the Gran Turismo World Series event in Singapore on October 3.
VGT started with Mercedes-AMG, and 13 years and 51 cars later a Chinese manufacturer is finally in. An EV built by a phone company now sits in the same bracket as Porsche and Bugatti. People will argue about it, but this addition maps the 2026 auto industry exactly as it is.
This piece covers what the Xiaomi VGT actually is, what the EV driving lesson means, the full shape of Spec IV’s first wave, and where this one car lands in VGT history.
Start with the car itself.
What is the Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo? A car whose concept is being shaped by the wind
The Xiaomi VGT is an electric concept hypercar that Xiaomi designed specifically for Gran Turismo. The collaboration was announced in June 2025, and a full-size model was shown at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in March 2026. Gran Turismo’s official site describes it this way.
A concept electric hypercar sculpted by the wind
Source:gran-turismo.com
Sculpted by the wind, in other words. A teardrop cockpit is set into a body built out of cutaways and air ducts, turning the path of the airflow directly into the shape of the car. The standout detail is the ring-shaped tail lamp, which doubles as an identification light and an air outlet. Xiaomi has attached the idea of a “sofa racer” to this car, meaning the goal is racing with the ride comfort of sitting on a couch.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo (Xiaomi VGT) |
| Powertrain | Electric (output figures unannounced) |
| Design | Teardrop cockpit, ring tail lamp that doubles as an air outlet, aero thinking inherited from the SU7 and YU7 |
| VGT number | 51st car, and the first Chinese brand |
| Added | October 2026 (Spec IV part 1, releasing October 15) |
| Physical reveal | March 2026, MWC Barcelona (full-size model) |
Output, torque, and 0–100 km/h figures have no official announcement as of October 2026. Overseas outlets have floated the idea that it carries over the SU7 Ultra’s three-motor layout, but that is unconfirmed. On the aero side a drag coefficient of 0.29 has been reported, and that figure can be treated as dating from the design reveal.
The official line is that it inherits the aerodynamic engineering proven on the Xiaomi SU7 and YU7. Which means it’s a fictional car sitting on an extension of real production EVs. Where most past VGT entries were a manufacturer’s dream, Xiaomi’s is a sketch of what comes after the car it sells today. That’s the new part.
What is the EV-only driving lesson? A first in 30 years of the series
An EV-specific driving lesson ships alongside the Xiaomi VGT. In 30 years of Gran Turismo, this is the first lesson built specifically around electric cars. It uses the Xiaomi VGT and the Xiaomi SU7 Ultra, and it’s structured to teach how EVs behave on track.
So what makes driving an EV different from an internal combustion car? Peak torque arrives from a standstill, so corner exits come up fast; regenerative braking changes how deceleration feels; and a heavy battery under the floor drops the center of gravity and changes the sensation of weight transfer. How far the lesson goes into any of that is unannounced, but anything badged EV-only ought to be a curriculum that simply wouldn’t work in a combustion car.
The concern is that the car list is limited to two Xiaomi models. Gran Turismo’s lessons are fundamentally about teaching the basics of vehicle behavior, and building one around a single brand’s cars tilts it toward promotion. Depending on the content, it risks looking like a Xiaomi test drive. The quality of the lesson itself will decide this.
That said, a game taking on the job of teaching how to drive an EV matters on its own. Plenty of people still haven’t driven an electric car in 2026. Getting a feel for how an EV moves in a game first has value that exists independent of the marketing.
What’s in Spec IV part 1? Sportsland SUGO, new cars, and drift trials
Spec IV is a free mega-update marking the series’ 30th anniversary, split into a first wave on October 15, 2026 and a second wave in December. Across both waves there are 12 new cars, and the Xiaomi VGT is in the first one.
| Element | Part 1 (October 15) | Part 2 (December) |
|---|---|---|
| New tracks | Sportsland SUGO | Autumn Ring (with an extended layout added) |
| New cars | Xiaomi VGT and others (12 across both waves) | The remaining cars |
| New modes | EV-only driving lesson, online Drift Trial, Shuffle Race, Experience | Family Mode |
| Other | Car Concierge, the garage’s View Car feature, Vintage | — |
Which wave each element lands in includes some estimation, apart from what was already locked in when PlayStation’s official blog detailed the update in September (SUGO in October, Autumn Ring and Family Mode in December). Check the patch notes on release day for the final split of the new modes.
Sportsland SUGO is a real circuit in Miyagi Prefecture, a technical layout defined by elevation change and the Dunlop Bridge. Adding a Japanese circuit is a straightforward win for players in Japan. Autumn Ring is a fictional course dating back to the original Gran Turismo, and it returns in December to mark the 30th anniversary.
Producer Kazunori Yamauchi has said the update was designed as a 30th-anniversary celebration so that everyone can enjoy the world of Gran Turismo more deeply. Both the Xiaomi VGT and the EV lesson are attempts to fold the generation that will drive EVs next into that “everyone.”
How does it look against VGT history? From Mercedes 13 years ago to China at car 51
Vision Gran Turismo launched in 2013 in Gran Turismo 6 as a project for the series’ 15th anniversary. It’s the program where automakers design concept cars exclusively for Gran Turismo, and the first entry was the Mercedes-AMG Vision Gran Turismo. Thirteen years later, car number 51 is a Xiaomi.
| Milestone | Details |
|---|---|
| 2013 | VGT program begins in Gran Turismo 6, led by the Mercedes-AMG entry |
| 2022 | Gran Turismo 7 launches, continuing to carry VGT cars |
| June 2025 | The Xiaomi collaboration is announced |
| March 2026 | Full-size model revealed at MWC Barcelona |
| October 2026 | Enters GT7 as car 51, the first Chinese brand |
The manufacturers in the VGT program have overwhelmingly been established European, Japanese, American, and Korean automakers. Xiaomi only entered the car business in 2024 with the SU7, making it by far the newest participant. From the game’s side, this is the moment the program’s meaning shifted slightly, from historic concepts by legacy automakers to a vision of the future from an upstart EV maker.
Here’s the good and the concerning side by side. The good: new cars, a new track, and a new lesson all arriving in a free update, plus a VGT program that reflects what’s actually happening in the industry. The concerning: the Xiaomi VGT’s performance figures are unannounced, so there’s no telling what class it lands in. Along with the quality of the EV lesson, that’s a wait-for-the-October-15-patch-notes situation.
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Wrap-up: the Xiaomi VGT arrives in Spec IV part 1 on October 15, with the first EV-only lesson
The Xiaomi Vision Gran Turismo joins Gran Turismo 7 in part 1 of the free Spec IV mega-update, releasing October 15, 2026. It’s the 51st Vision Gran Turismo car overall and the first from a Chinese brand. Its concept is being shaped by the wind, and it’s an EV hypercar defined by a teardrop cockpit and a ring-shaped tail lamp. Performance figures are unannounced. The series’ first EV-only driving lesson lands at the same time, using the Xiaomi VGT and the SU7 Ultra, and Spec IV as a whole delivers Sportsland SUGO, Autumn Ring in December, 12 new cars, Drift Trial, Family Mode, and more across two waves.
VGT number 51 is an upstart Chinese EV maker. That’s a car addition, sure, but it’s also proof that Gran Turismo still works as a mirror of the auto industry as it exists right now. The EV-only lesson carries a whiff of promotion, yet there’s nowhere else to learn how an EV drives inside a game. The verdict stays on hold until the performance figures land.
A car that races while you sit on a sofa. It sounds like a joke, but I’ll decide after I’ve run it around SUGO.
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Nokko Oda
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