The big test: Lucid Air

It's been a long time coming, but the Lucid dream is about to become reality. So who should be more worried, Tesla or Mercedes?

- STEPHEN DOBIE

The story isn't new. This is a highly powerful electric saloon car from Silicon Valley. It seems to be that new electric start-ups are only valid if they're birthed here. The Lucid Air's USP is that it isn't taking on the Tesla Model S, Lucid instead claiming it's an electrified rival to the Mercedes S-Class. Opposition for the Mercedes EQS, then, plus anything BMW and Audi can put up.

So its headline figure isn't its 0-62mph time, but its range: up to 520 miles. Just like a big old tank of diesel used to provide. To get it you have to have the right version of the five available, from Air Pure (480bhp, 406 miles of range) through to Dream Edition R (933bhp and 520 miles, the car in the pictures here). The R stands for Range, but there's also Dream Edition P which sacrifices range on the altar of performance (1,111bhp, 471 miles and 0-60mph in 2.5secs). The price more than doubles between base and peak, from $77,400 (£57,700) to $169,000 (£126,000). All but the Pure come with dual motors and thus all-wheel drive.

The focus appears to be on luxury, and yet among the European engineers flown over to California to make the Air drive properly are chassis folk from Aston and Jaguar as well as one Jean-Charles Monnet, Red Bull Racing's former aerodynamicist. As such, you're looking at a car with an EQS-matching drag coefficient of 0.20. But, we'd argue, better looks. A traditional three-box sedan, just slinkily updated for the EV age.

But to get the range you need to lose the wheels. Only on the 19s do you get 520 miles - these 21s lose you 40. Still, on a fast charger that's only a couple of minutes when Lucid claims you can accrue 300 miles in 20 minutes.