Xiaomi MS11 images leak - no more secrets

Chinese social media offer a true treasure trove, and if you’re willing to spend some time away from watching kitten videos on ‘the tube’ you just may come across a real scoop. Cue the first electric car from the phone giant, Xiaomi.

The company is finalizing the development of the vehicle and the car has been spotted numerous times - during winter testing and even roaming city streets somewhere in China. But one Weibo user scored some serious kudos for coming across what appears to be the car in its full undisguised glory.

According to the photos posted on social media, the first electric Xiaomi has a rather uninspiring name - MS11. Marks and Spencer? Or the medical condition, MS? The Modena codename that was given by Xiaomi to its first EV clearly wasn’t going to survive. Let’s put the banter aside and focus on the actual car.

What we have here is a rather good looking sedan, it’s not a 5-door hatchback but a sporty looking 4-door electric car. As it is with everything these days found on the Internet, we need to be careful before claiming this is the real deal. There is an awful lot of influence from BYD Seal. From a distance, the two cars could be easily mistaken for one another. But the headlights look very much like the McLaren 720S items.

We have recently reported on the Xiaomi design details that leaked, and the images of the front and rear bumpers from that article look very much like the car we have here today. It shouldn’t be an issue if not for Xiaomi who went out of its way and claimed those photos were from an early prototype, not the real car.

Is it possible then, that the car we see here is that prototype? Or is Xiaomi trying to put us off the trail, desperately hoping to keep the car a secret for a while longer? None of it matters frankly any more, the cat really is out of the bag.

Back to the car then. Xiaomi MS11 is a good looking sedan, there’s the compulsory full-length glass roof, large wheels and interestingly, Wilwood brakes. The Xiaomi logo proudly sits in the center of the wheels and there’s the obvious LiDAR sensor atop the windscreen.

There’s a feel of substance and a promise of performance from the car’s design - we have the wide rear arches with the passenger cabin slightly narrowing towards the rear with the tail lights taking design cues from Aston Martin - maybe.

Just as we expected, Xiaomi MS11 is not going to be a revolutionary car, not in the design department. Xiaomi plays o conservative game here and will focus on experience and for that to work, the design has to be accepted by as large a group of buyers as possible. The car looks solid, it looks like it has alot of performance hiding under that skin, which is exactly the design Audi has perfected over the decades.

The company will ride on its established brand and many people will go for the MS11 expecting to find the same Xiaomi values we know from its products - high quality, ease of use, clever functions and pleasing design.

We haven’t seen the interior yet but we can expect another leak in the coming days. Presuming this is the real deal - most likely it is - the MS11 will be a great start for Xiaomi. The wheels, the performance tires and the brakes suggest there’s plenty of poke hiding in there and with the images looking to be the marketing material, the launch date is approaching rather fast.

Via