In what will most likely be the last piece of teased content before the full reveal of the Lucid Air, Lucid has given us a further taste of the achievements that they have made. As it turns out, the Lucid Air will not only be the longest ranged electric car, but also the quickest on the drag strip.
Electric cars (and more specifically, Tesla) have long enjoyed the benefits of their instantaneous torque and quick 0-60 mph times in drag races all across the world. The Performance Tesla Model S will outdo the likes of supercars like the LaFerrari or Audi R8 while costing significantly less and having more utility than any other supercar.
While 0-60 mph times are typically the go-to when comparing the performance of cars, the 1/4-mile time is an equally good metric to compare performance as it can show if a car can continue to put down power over a longer period of time rather than only a few seconds. The current Model S Performance has a 1/4 mile time somewhere in the mid-10 second range, which is already absurdly good. But in Lucid’s quest to make a car that can compete with the Model S and other future electric sedans, they have tuned the Air to break the 10-second barrier and report that their electric car does a 1/4 mile in only 9.9 seconds. For reference, this puts the Air on par with the exponentially more exclusive Bugatti Chiron.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors commented on the achievement:
“Our watchword has been ‘focus’ since day one at Lucid – a focus on sound engineering principles, a focus on creating efficiencies, and a focus on maximizing power to create a world-class EV. When the Lucid Air comes to market next spring, the world will see that we have developed the best electric vehicle technology possible by a wide margin and effectively created a new benchmark for EVs. The result is nothing short of a technological tour de force in every facet upon which a luxury performance car is measured.”
Lucid attributes a large part of their great performance to their in-house electric drivetrain. The company states that their drive unit which includes electric motors with an inverter and integrated transmission and differential weighs only 163 lbs. and are small enough to fit in a carry-on. This drive unit can provide over 650 hp and the Air has two of them for a total output of 1,080 hp. According to Lucid, their drive units are 45 percent lighter and up to 59 percent more powerful than the closest competitor.
Interestingly enough Lucid stated that their drive units are compact enough that they could fit three of them into an Air. As of now, all the performance metrics we have received have been for a dual-motor version of the car, so the thought of these numbers becoming even lower is insane. It seems that Lucid might have an even crazier version of the Air in store in case the Plaid Model S gives the dual-motor Air a run for its money. But for the time being, the Air looks to not only have a longer range than the Model S, but is also faster in a straight line.
While it is important to note that the cars have not seen volume production yet, we cannot ignore the fact that Lucid is quickly becoming the next possible leader in all the important EV metrics: range, speed, and charge rate. We will hope to see all the specifications come together and be finalized when Lucid reveals the Air on September 9th.
How are you guys feeling about the Lucid Air as a whole? Are you excited for the reveal or are you remaining skeptical of everything that has been promised so far? Let us know down in the comments below.
