California’s Lucid Motors has revealed pricing and production details for its Air sedan, ahead of its arrival in spring 2021. And with it, Lucid has released a set of production-car photos.
Like the original Tesla Model S, for which Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson was chief engineer, the Lucid Air pushes the practical and performance boundaries of electric vehicles farther ahead with technology and innovation—including performance and range that are likely to beat any other electric vehicle on launch.
That’s all enabled through a clean-slate approach to just about everything, from motor to inverter to battery pack to aerodynamics, with a relentless focus on efficiency. Lucid says that at present, the Air is about 17% more efficient than its closest competitor.
Initially, that won’t come cheap. Although a base $80,000 version of the Air is coming in 2022, Lucid has revealed that the Air Dream Edition, the halo version of the electric sedan set to arrive first, in spring 2021, will cost $169,000. Neither price includes the $7,500 federal EV tax credit.
With the full 1,080 horsepower and a dual-motor layout, the Dream Edition will be able to get to 168 mph and reach 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds and hit the quarter-mile in just 9.9 seconds—faster than any production sedan at present, electric or not.
2021 Lucid Air
Depending on the wheels, the Dream Edition won’t quite reach the estimated 517-mile EPA rating Lucid has teased. With its big 21-inch wheels it’ll go 465 miles, but with 19-inch AeroRange wheels that’s boosted to 503 miles.
Slotting just below that, the $139,000 Grand Touring that will arrive in the summer will be able to make the most of the 113-kwh battery pack. With an 800-hp version of the propulsion system, it will be able to perform 3.0-second 0-60 mph times and a quarter-mile in 10.8 seconds.
The $95,000 Air Grand Touring is said to be at the heart of the lineup and will offer a smaller battery pack, with an estimated EPA range of 406 miles. Its 620 hp will yield a 0-60 mph time of 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 155 mph.
All versions will however be able to fast-charge in what Lucid says can represent up to 300 miles recovered in 20 minutes.
2021 Lucid Air
Chief design officer Derek Jenkins put aside what he’s called the “legacy thinking” of long hoods and internal-combustion proportions to help maximize space and make the most of the Air’s propulsion components, which it says are significantly smaller than those of its closest rival. The result achieves not just a 0.21 coefficient of drag—great for highway efficiency and range—but a very spacious interior.
The instrument panel is elegant and simple, with a curved 34-inch touchscreen display in front of the driver, and the potential to flick features to a center-stack screen for more granular controls. And the in-car Amazon Alexa integration is more advanced here than in other models, offering voice commands for things like climate control as well as smart home controls.
2021 Lucid Air
Inside, you can momentarily forget about the efficiency push as it’s a plush luxury sedan first and foremost—especially in this form, with Bridge of Weir leather and silvered Eucalyptus wood. A glass roof flows continuously overhead, with exposed aluminum roof rails alongside. Back-seat space is more than ample for taller adults, with a spacious trunk and what’s claimed to be the biggest frunk ever.
Lucid says that it’s done more than 20 million miles of real-world testing in the Air, with 10 years of experience in its own powertrain development—including the batteries for Formula E racing.
2021 Lucid Air
The Air has an advanced suite of driver-assistance features it calls DreamDrive—including 32 sensors and wrapping in vision, radar, ultrasonic, and lidar functions. Headlights have a Micro Lens Array, developed within Lucid, that will point the beam wherever it’s best used.
Does the Air show the direction of future electric vehicles? With the level of innovation here, plus plans to expand the lineup with an SUV and more affordable models—and perhaps even selling its tech to other companies—it certainly appears so.
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