Lucids is debuting the new version of its electric hatchback, the Lucids Air. Lucid Group began building its first fully electric Air sedans in Arizona in September 2021, and began shipping them out to customers at the end of October. Lucid Group has mostly been developing battery technologies for the past few years, but it began developing its first vehicle in 2014. Lucid built an all-new factory in Arizona, and delivered its first vehicle to paying customers in October.
That it came as the first cars from a brand-new, start-up is all the more amazing. Lucid was founded back in 2007 as a company whose purpose was to make batteries for other automakers, but eventually rebranded in 2016 and announced it was going to become an automaker itself. Lucid Group rebranded to Lucid Motors in October 2016, and formally announced their intention to develop a luxury, all-electric, high-performance car. After its debut model, the Lucid Air, was named Motor Trends car of the year for 2022, Lucid was seen as a major threat to Tesla due to its hatchbacks range of over 500 miles per charge and the attractive styling of its debut model.
Saudi-backed Lucid Motors describes the three-motor Lucid Air Sapphire as the worlds first all-electric luxury hyper sports sedan, and its specifications are appropriately lofty. The Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance is one of the best performing EVs on sale today, offering an impressive 1050hp from its dual-activecore EVs. At 1,050 horsepower, the new Grand Touring Performance Edition is Lucids most powerful electric sedan yet.
The Grand Touring Performance can reach 60 miles per hour in as little as 2.6 seconds, or, if driven softly, it can cruise along for 516 miles – its EPA-estimated driving range. To add insult to injury, the performance version, the Lucid Air Dream Edition (which also manages to annihilate the maximum-range offerings from the Taycan, at 471 miles), is faster than Porsches, too. Lucid Motors, which is located in Silicon Valley, claims the honor of selling the first EV to have a EPA-estimated range over 500 miles, with its $169,000 Lucid Air Dream Edition R. That 933-hp version of its forthcoming air sedan, which is priced at $169, is estimated at 520 miles.
Lucid Motors initial plan was for its highest-end, highest-power model, which will follow this version, to be an already-superlative $139. Lucid Motors initially had hopes to put one into production in a couple years, but that was before investors went electric-mad, and progress was delayed for some time until the company secured a billion-dollar investment from the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund.
Lucids CEO, Peter Rawlinson, was the lead engineer for the Tesla Model S project, but the now-Lucid CEO is building a Lucid Air. The original Tesla Model S could travel up to 405 miles on a single charge, something that is definitely shamed by the incredible 520 miles from their longer-range model. Officially, the Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance is an electric driving box with state-of-the-art, 900V+, weighting only 163 pounds, according to CEO Peter Rawlinson, which is small enough to be carried in a standard carry-on roller bag for an airline.
Whether looking at range, the interior experience, or the driving dynamics, Lucid Air is one of the best performing electric cars on the market today, and the Lucid Air is among the best new luxury cars overall. While the Porsche Taycan, Audi e-tron GT, and Tesla Model S all tend to prioritize performance, while the Mercedes EQS is all about luxury, the Lucid Air seems to combine the best of both worlds.
In the years since Teslas Model S arrived, the industry has started catching up, and now, if you want a fully-electric, full-size luxury sedan, you have got several more options to choose from, including Mercedes-EQs EQS, Porsches Taycan, or this, 2022s Lucid Air. Several startups have launched EVs looking to disrupt the transport market, but so far, the 2023 Lucid Air luxury sedan is one of a handful making a noticeable impact.
Silicon Valley-based Lucid is making this bet on “money is no object” with a sleek new space to promote its luxury sedan, the Air Grand Touring. The Air is offered with a range of driver-assistance tech, with Lucids working toward Level 3 autonomous driving capability.
The entry-level Air has a single electric motor driving the rear wheels, producing 480 horsepower. Each Lucid Air gets two electric motors, one powering the front wheels, and another powering the rear. The Lucid Air debuts 900V+ electric architecture, with bespoke Lithium-Ion cells.
This uses a 900V battery system, which is easily the strongest in the market, and if you were to connect it to one of the still-rare 800V, 300kW DC quick chargers that are slowly popping up across the globe, you could boost the batterys 300 miles of range in as little as 20 minutes, according to Lucid. The Air drives far more like an ordinary car than a Mercedes EQS, and could prove to be a better gateway into something electric for people who are interested in swapping out a regular S-Class instead of a Mercedes-owned electric vehicle. Given that the Sapphire appears to be the advanced version of the companys Lucid Air — itself touted as the longest-range, quickest-charging EV on the market, and whose Grand Touring models boast EPA-estimated ranges of 830km — you would guess that the figures are similar.