Lucid Air

Lucid Air
The Lucid Air is a battery electric 4-door sedan made by Lucid Motors. Announced in December 2016 and sold starting in 2021, it is designed to compete with the Tesla Model S, the Fisker Karma, the Porsche Taycan, as well as other luxury electric vehicles made by Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi.
The Dream Edition's EPA range is estimated at . The production model was unveiled in September 2020, and production began in late 2021.
In November 2020, the Lucid Air Pure was announced with of projected range and and a starting price of US$77,400. The range of trim levels includes Pure, Touring, Grand Touring, and Dream Edition.
On September 28, 2021, Lucid Motors announced that production had begun, with the base Pure model expected in late 2022. Deliveries commenced on October 30, 2021, with the first reservation holders taking delivery of Air Dream Editions in an event in California.
History
The Lucid Air was conceived in the early 2010s, with a prototype unveiled to the public in 2016, and the production version unveiled in September 2020, with production planned for 2021.
Lucid contracted with Samsung SDI on December 2, 2016, to supply batteries.
In 2016, Lucid Motors created a delivery van with the prototype of its electric powertrain for the Air using batteries from its former brand, Atieva. Known as "Edna", the delivery van contained two gearboxes, motors producing over and an 87 kWh battery pack. Combined with all-wheel drive and other physical and software updates, Edna was able to achieve 0– in 2.74 seconds and a quarter mile in 11.3 seconds. According to Lucid Motors, Edna was used to test the real world performance of its powertrain, including "motor control algorithms, regenerative braking behaviors, accelerator pedal feel, and cooling strategies".
In 2018, a modified Lucid Air prototype set an EV lap record of 1:41.67 at the Laguna Seca track, beating the Jaguar I Pace by seven seconds, previously holding a previous record of 1:48.18. The prototype Air was equipped with "Pirelli P Zero PZ4 summer tires, modified high temperature brake pads and fluid, a 6 point roll cage and fire suppression system".
In 2018, Lucid Motors closed a investment deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund to fund the Air production, then expected to commence in late 2020 following the construction of the Lucid factory in Casa Grande, Arizona. The factory investment was expected to reach by 2025 when all phases are complete, with the first phase including a investment in equipment and to acquire property.
By May 2019, the Air was available for pre-order in the United States and Canada, with plans slated for China. In an interview, CEO Peter Rawlinson stated that China was projected as a significant market for Lucid Motors due to their intensive usage patterns, for which the Air is best suited.
In a 2019 interview, Rawlinson outlined that the US$100,000-plus vehicle could be the first stage of a much bigger vision, which could achieve a level of energy efficiency that combined with a ubiquitous fast charging network, would counteract the need for larger batteries. Rawlinson said that Lucid Motors aims to improve energy efficiency to / kWh compared to an industry average of / kWh. Rawlinson further predicted that the price of batteries was expected to drop to US$100 / kWh within the next decade, which he believes will enable Lucid Motors to produce a luxury EV for less than US$30,000.
On June 30, 2020, Lucid Motors said that they expected the Lucid Air to be "the world's most aerodynamically efficient luxury car when it goes into production". The company "achieved a new benchmark in aerodynamic efficiency for its luxury electric car...with tests recently completed at Windshear's advanced rolling-road wind tunnel, the automaker verified a coefficient of drag of 0.21."
On May 5, 2022, Lucid Motors announced that it was raising prices of its luxury Air sedan beginning June 1. The price hikes would push the base price of the Air sedan up as much as 13%.
Overview
Design
The Air has been designed to compete in the luxury sports segment against the Tesla Model S as well as high-line models from German car manufacturers. Its goal is to match the ability of sport coupes, but has a greater interior space, with a smaller external length and width. The exterior design was led by Derek Jenkins.
On September 9, 2020, the Lucid Air was officially unveiled, and on November 24, 2020, Lucid Motors detailed the full range including the Lucid Air Pure, Touring, Grand Touring and Dream Edition.
Range
The Dream Edition R's EPA range is up to , making it the longest range of any EV rated by the EPA.
On November 24, 2020, the company-predicted range for all four models was announced: for the Lucid Air Pure and Lucid Air Touring, for the Lucid Air Dream Edition, and for the Lucid Air Grand Touring. A 2022 test drive revealed that the Grand Touring model only managed 410 miles; however, this was still the first EV tested by Car and Driver to top 400 miles.
DreamDrive (ADAS)
On July 29, 2020, Lucid Motors announced DreamDrive, an Advanced Driver-Assistance System (ADAS) which will debut in the Air. The DreamDrive sensor suite has 32 sensors in total, including "14 cameras: Three forward-facing, four side- and rear-facing, four surround-view, a rear-facing, a rear-facing fisheye, and lastly, a driving monitoring one. There are five radar units. One is a forward-facing long-range sensor, and the other four are short-range ones. Twelve short-range ultrasonic sensors handle near-field detection, and lastly, a high-resolution, long-range, 125-beam (equivalent), forward-facing Lidar maps the three-dimensional space ahead of the car."
Aerodynamics
The preproduction Air has a . Later reporting from Motor Trend gives it as for the production version. Rawlinson claims the Air has less drag than the Mercedes-Benz EQS due to a smaller frontal area.
Powertrain
Lucid Motors uses lithium-ion battery cells sourced from LG Chem to supply the Air's primary powertrain.
The entry level Air Pure will be equipped with a 88 kWh battery with rear wheel drive, capable of producing , of torque and of range. The Air Dream Edition Range will have a 112 kWh battery pack which will provide an estimated of EPA range. The Air Dream Edition Performance will have a combined output of and will be able to accelerate from in 2.5 seconds. In their most recent performance test, it achieved a top speed of .
, the most efficient version on sale in the US, the Air Grand Touring with 19-in wheels, has an EPA rated energy efficiency of .
Later independent reporting on real-world testing (drag strip performance times) showed the Air Dream variant achieving a time of 10 seconds flat. The test providers noted that conditions on that particular day were suboptimal (colder than ideal temperature for example), leading them to speculate that mile times closer to 9.8 seconds could be achieved under friendlier conditions.
Battery / Charging
Lucid Motors plans to offer a nationwide charging plan to customers in the US through its joint agreement with Electrify America. The 800-volt DC charging system, first used by the Porsche Taycan, allows variable voltages up to 1000 volts, and thus is fully compatible with Lucid's 924-volt electrical architecture.
When used with a 300 kW or higher charging station, the vehicle can gain 300 miles of range in 20 minutes. The vehicle features a bidirectional rectifier capable of supplying up to 19.2 kW (240V ~ 80A) of AC power that could power a home or other load.
It upconverts 400-volt or lower power coming from a charger to its operating voltage. It downconverts the battery pack's 900 volts to 400 volts to power other loads in the vehicle or to charge another vehicle.
The company claims that its 2170 cells differ significantly from normal lithium ion cells due to their tolerance of repeated cyclic fast charging and non-use for a prolonged period of time while maintaining capacity.
Features
Other standard features include: "LED headlights, all the necessary hardware for autonomous driving, four high resolution screens (three of which are touch sensitive), 19-inch alloy wheels, 10 speaker sound system, 12-way power adjustment for the front seats with heating, front and rear trunk with a total luggage space of around , and over-the-air software updates."
The Air can be optioned as a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive powertrain producing up to for the top of the range Air Dream Edition P.
Other options include: "active suspension, a panoramic sunroof, executive rear seats that can recline up to 55 degrees, a 29 speaker sound system with noise cancellation, 20 or 21-inch alloy wheels, and 22-way electric adjustment front seats with ventilation, dynamic bolsters and massage."
Reception
The Lucid Air was chosen as one of the Top 10 Tech Cars by the IEEE in 2018 and is the 2022 Motor Trend Car of the Year. Also in 2022, Lucid Air achieved the record for Longest Range and Fastest Charging Speed of any vehicle ever tested by Car and Driver. In April 2023 the Lucid Air was named the 2023 World Luxury Car of the Year by the World Car Awards.
Models
References
Further reading
Felton, Ryan. Electric Startup Lucid Motors is Doing One Big Thing Right Jalopnik. Retrieved 2019-05-30.
Wong, Raymond. Sorry Tesla, but the Lucid Air is way more luxurious and spacious Mashable. Retrieved 2019-05-30
External links
Production electric cars
Electric sports cars
Sports sedans
Euro NCAP executive cars
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
All-wheel-drive vehicles
Cars introduced in 2016