- Quarter mile in 9.9 seconds
- Three variants to be offered from 2021
Back in December 2016, Lucid Motors revealed the Air electric sedan to take on the fight against the Tesla Model S. It took the California-based startup another four years to give us the fully-functioning production model of the Air. And the numbers look promising.
Powering the Air is a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive setup with a combined output of up to 1,080 horsepower. The motor is fed charge through a 22 module, 5kWh battery pack with a total combined capacity of 113kWh. To put things into perspective, the Mercedes-Benz EQC we drove recently had an 80kWh pack while Tesla’s largest offering is 100kWh. This high-voltage (924Volts) system is capable of lending the Air an EPA rated range of 832km in its most efficient configuration.
And to charge up such a large battery pack, there’s a 300kW charging capacity which is more than the 270kW you get in the Porsche Taycan. It can add up to 35km of range per minute of charging when connected through its fast chargers, and add 450km of range in just 20 minutes. So it makes the Air one of the fastest charging EV currently on sale. What’s more, the Air is also bidirectional vehicle-to-grid compatible.
Since it's aiming at the Tesla, the Air is also autonomous ready. There are high-resolution LiDAR sensors onboard along with ultrasonic sensors and gamut of cameras all around. With the current set-up, the Air is Level 3 autonomous ready. And it is also one of the most connected cars, helped further with the integrated Alexa Voice.
In terms of exterior and interior design, Lucid hasn’t changed much from the concept we saw back in 2016. The sleek, minimalistic design claims to have a drag coefficient of just 0.21. It’s low-slung, wide and long with a glass roof, flush door handles, and massive 21-inch aerodynamic wheels. There’s no drama with unnecessary creases, just seamless sheet metal with a distinct roofline. And the light bars run across the width, both fore and aft.
Similar minimalistic design approach continues on the inside. There’s a new S-Class-like centre console touchscreen. And a 32-inch 5K curved glass display ‘floats’ atop the dashboard. And since the entire roof is glass, there’s a sense of spaciousness in the Air’s cabin. It also gets massive seats in both rows which looks quite comfortable.
There will be four models to choose from when the Air hits the streets next year. The standard Air would cost 80,000USD when it arrives in 2022. Meanwhile, the Air Touring will go on sale late-2021 with 95,000USD sticker price. The fully equipped Air Grand Touring will be available mid-2021, from 139,000USD. And a limited-run Air Dream Edition would cost 169,000USD.
