the lucid air is something like the top trump in the quartet of electric luxury sedans.
A fresh breeze is blowing through the electrified luxury class – and it’s blowing in the face of tesla boss elon musk or daimler board member ola kallenius: because with its first electric air, the start-up lucid is targeting the model S and EQS in particular.
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It is something like the top trump in the quartet of electric luxury sedans. Since the American start-up lucid began delivering the air in october, the tesla model S and mercedes EQS have been second choice at best, not to mention the porsche taycan and its twin, the audi e-tron GT. After all, this sleek little gem with its flowing lines boasts not only a crazy 1 km/h, but also an impressive 2 km/h.111 hp and more than 1.000 nm torque at least for the first edition, thanks to its 118 kwh battery, the initial 169.000 dollars, the five-seater also has by far the greatest range certified by the American authorities to date: the EPA has determined 520 miles or 837 kilometers, giving the air a lead of over 100 miles over the model S (405 miles) or the Mercedes EQS (350 miles).
Rechargeable batteries are used as the exclusive power storage unit in the formula E
the man behind the ambitious project is the former chief engineer of the model S: peter rawlinson left tesla in 2012 and is now emerging as the biggest challenger to elon musk, attacking his former boss with his own weapons: even though the air uses a skateboard platform like all its competitors, lucid is built in the same way as tesla but, unlike mercedes& co relies on its own components: the engine, at 74 kilograms one of the lightest in this league and yet powerful enough to produce up to 650 hp, was developed and produced by the Americans themselves. And their own batteries, with an operating voltage of 900 volts and a maximum charging power of 350 kW, are apparently so good that they are even used as an exclusive power storage unit in Formula E.
lucid has packaged the whole thing in a design that more than lives up to the name air. Firstly, because the body has an extremely low air resistance with a cd value of 0.21. And secondly, because the car is extremely airy inside: although its 4.98 meters are only about as long as an e-class, it offers more space in the rear than an s-class and is also superior to its electric competitors from germany. In addition, there’s over 450 liters of storage space in the rear and more than 200 liters in the front, giving the driver a whole new perspective. No, not only because lucid has found its own balance of buttons and touchscreen, craftsmanship and hollywood in the cockpit. but mainly because the windshield extends far into the roof, as it did on the opel astra GTC back then, adding to the airy impression.
Lucid air (series/2021)
But you can only enjoy that on the first drive with the lucid air on the first meters, when it goes through the usual traffic jam out of hollywood and down towards malibu. because as soon as it reaches the bottom of the pacific coast highway, the lucid lures you with its power and strides out so mightily that it’s better to keep your eyes on the road: if you can accelerate from 0 to 100 in well under three seconds and then up to 270 without even the slightest let-up, you should watch out for the ubiquitous cops- or switch from the highway to the byways. After all, there’s more than enough of that in the hollywood hills.
And there too the lucid to surprise. For a car of its size and without any frills like air suspension or rear-axle steering, the stromer feels surprisingly handy and agile in the narrow canyons and is committed to storming the passes. no, even though peter rawlins was also once with lotus, it is of course no comparison to the elise, even if you switch through the three driving profiles all the way to the back. But the air is closer to a BMW M5 than the EQS even in the AMG version and even as a taycan driver you should look carefully in the rear view mirror.
Limited number of units
Whereby this experience is literally limited. because lucid only builds 520 of the dream edition, and even those don’t all have the performance drivetrain. after that there are three versions: the base for 79.000 dollars with a 480 hp engine in the rear and 406 miles of range, the 95.000 dollar touring with 620 hp all-wheel drive and a 406-mile range, as well as the permanent top model, the grand touring, which is available for 139 euros.000 dollars with 800 hp and 516 miles pushes it into pole position.
At first glance, everything seems to be going according to plan for rawlinson and his lucid. The dream edition is long sold out, for the ordinary models there are allegedly more than 10.000 preorders, and the launch in europe is still on the calendar with a first showroom in munich this year. And the stock market is apparently also satisfied and has meanwhile valued the company at around 60 billion dollars at its debut on wallstreet to almost as much as BMW or daimler. in the meantime, the securities watchdogs have taken a closer look, and the americans now have to prove that they can make the leap from a start-up to a series manufacturer. It is not for nothing that the arizona plant has set itself a medium-term target of annual production of 90,000 cars.000 cars designed. But they are not lacking in confidence. On the contrary: while the air hasn’t really taken off yet, they’re already planning the second series and with it even larger numbers: in just one year, an SUV called gravity will give the brand additional traction.