The Lucid Air does not look like a performance car. It’s a clean-sheet luxury EV with the cabin space of an S-Class, two enormous luggage compartments and an interior that fuses minimalist tech and uncluttered cool in that chic, intuitive way California has made its own.
But the Lucid Air is a performance car. The numbers for the recently unveiled Dream Edition Air, the compmay’s first car, are thus: a range of more than 800km (730km at motorway speeds, Lucid says) from a 113kWh battery, 783kW, 0-97km/h in 2.5sec and efficiency of 6.4km/kWh (the Porsche Taycan Turbo S is around 4.2km/kWh).
Electric car makers claiming ludicrous numbers are not uncommon. But there’s reason to believe in Lucid. Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, worked at Lotus and Jaguar before moving to Tesla to engineer the breakthrough Model S. At Lucid he’s secured the funding to build a factory from scratch, in Arizona (HQ is in Silicon Valley, naturally), and to ready the car for production – the first will be built next year.
But how did Lucid create a car with such wild numbers?
A COOLER PERFORMANCE EV IS KEY
A giant battery is dumb range. The Air’s battery pack is big, but not big enough to account for its range advantage alone. The Lucid’s range – and its power – are the result of an engineering program that’s prioritised efficiency above all, and developed everything inhouse. An example? The high-voltage architecture, a result of Lucid’s learnings from its Formula E battery project. The Taycan uses an 800volt system. The Air’s is 924V.
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Wheels Australia Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2020 edition of Wheels Australia Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
ROUGH DIAMONDS
GO OUT AND SEE AUSTRALIA. BUY ONE OF THESE AND YOU'LL MAKE IT HOME TOO
WORK IN PROGRESS
WHEN YOUR LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON IT, DON'T TAKE ANY CHANCES
RABID RESPONSE
EVEN IF YOU'RE PULLING IN THE FINANCIAL HORNS, YOU WON'T NEED TO COMPROMISE ON FUN
PREMIUM BLEND
HERE'S HOW TO ENJOY CHAMPAGNE ON A VAGUELY BEERY BUDGET
GO LARGE, SAVE BIG
WE BRING YOU A SELECTION OF LARGE FAMILY SUVS THAT ARE UNLIKELY TO BREAK THE BANK
MIDDLE CLASS
THE AUSSIE FAMILY DREAM USED TO BE A QUARTER ACRE AND A PICKET FENCE. NOW IT'S A LITTLE MORE MODEST
SHORTY AWARDS
VALUE FOR MONEY CAN BE A RARE COMMODITY AMONG SMALL SUVS. HERE ARE THREE THAT ANSWER THE CALL
MID SIZE MAX VALUE
THE MEDIUM RANGE SECTOR IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF GETTING ALOT OF CAR FOR YOUR DOLLAR
HATCH MATCH
WANT A HATCH THAT'LL PUT A SMILE ON YOUR DIAL SECOND TIME ROUND? TRY THESE...
MODE ΤΟ ΤΟΥ
PORSCHE'S LATEST HOT 911 IS THE NEW FRONTIER FOR ON-THEFLY CHASSIS ADJUSTABILITY, OFFERING THE DRIVER A WORLD OF CONFIGURATION - BUT IS IT WORTH THE HASSLE?