Four years after unveiling the original prototype, Lucid has revealed the production version of its first model, the Air. This electric luxury sedan will be marketed in the second quarter of 2021. It will have among its main arguments a real heart attack performance, a record autonomy, and avant-garde technological equipment.
Designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle, the Lucid Air has proportions befitting its nature, with a reasonably short hood and elongated cabin. Its shapes seek to maximize interior space and aerodynamics: with a Cx of just 0.21, it will become the most aerodynamic car on the market.
The Lucid Air’s dashboard is fluid and modern in design, with a huge curved 5K display presiding over the dashboard. This display is divided into three sections (one for the instrumentation, one for the infotainment system, etc.). A second touch screen in a lower position allows you to control various functions of the car; it is also intercommunicated with the superior (information can be passed from one display to another). There are also several physical controls to regulate the sound system’s volume, climate control, etc. During the presentation of the vehicle, the emphasis was placed on its high construction and material quality. A dart to Tesla?
On the other hand, Lucid has teamed up with Amazon to integrate an advanced version of the vehicle’s Alexa voice assistant. Users will be able to use Alexa to control the browser, calls, and messages, make online purchases, adjust the temperature, etc. Even more, features are also planned to be added through OTA updates.
The Lucid Air Dream Edition has a sunroof that optimizes the space available in the cabin, as it increases the interior height. Thanks to its “Space Concept” architecture, the model will be one of the most spacious in its class. Besides, it will have an unparalleled load capacity (739 liters distributed in two trunks, one front, and one rear), much higher than that of the competition.
Lucid, which designs, manufacture, and is the exclusive supplier of the batteries (and their management system) used in Formula E, and has used modules quite similar to those used in that competition for the Air pack. The sedan has a total of 22 modules, each with just over 5 kWh of capacity. Adding them all together gives a total of 113 kWh.
The Lucid Air Grand Touring will reach 517 miles EPA of autonomy (remember that the American EPA homologation cycle is very demanding, so we are talking about a quite realistic figure). The model’s electrical system will be 924 volts, the highest in the entire industry, far behind the 800 volts of the Porsche Taycan.
Lucid promises that the Air will be the first electric vehicle to offer a combination of advanced sensors, high-resolution LIDAR, a driver monitoring system, and a redundant platform as standard equipment on all versions. This will result in the presence of an advanced autonomous driving system.
DreamDrive technology will support up to 19 assists, autonomous driving, and parking functions, which will be offered from production. Later, the company will implement eight other advanced functions through OTA updates. Although initially, the Air will have a level 2 autonomous driving system, it will later be upgraded to level 3.
Although the Air Dream Edition has a powertrain consisting of two engines (one per axle) capable of producing 1,095 hp together, Lucid is working on a high-performance version with three engines (one on the front axle, two on the rear). Only the two rear engines will deliver some 1,300 hp. So we can expect it to far exceed the acceleration record achieved by the two-engine version, which was recently able to cover the quarter-mile in just 9.9 seconds.
Lucid-developed engines have a very compact and lightweight design (they are 2.5 times smaller than those of the closest competitor), allowing for more interior space, less weight, better efficiency, and a longer range. In fact, during the Air presentation, Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson stated that Lucid’s technology is far superior to that of the “industry leader” (we understand that is Tesla), as the Air is 17% more efficient than its closest competitor.
The Lucid Air will be marketed in four versions. The first two (Air Grand Touring and Air Dream Edition) will sell in the United States in the second quarter of 2021 for $139,000 and $169,000 before incentives, respectively. In the fourth quarter of that same year, the Air Touring will arrive, which will cost $95,000, while in 2022, the Air will be launched “simply” for less than $80,000.
Lucid Air can now be booked in the United States, Canada, and select countries in the Middle East and Europe. The company has confirmed that by the end of 2021, it will have twenty Lucid Studios and Service Centers in North America, while details of its arrival in the Middle East and Europe (delivery dates, prices, sales, and service centers) will be announced later.