[Sept. 11, 2020]
The Lucid Air reveal on Sept. 9 was simultaneously anti-climactic and astounding. Prototypes of the Air were shown as early as December 2016, and outwardly, little has changed from then until now. However, some of the details of the performance and specs of the Air were eye opening. Among them, 1,080 hp, a 113 kWh battery, 500+ mile range, a quarter-mile time of under 10 seconds, and a 0-60 time of 2.5 seconds. Oh yeah, and a top-of-the-line starting price of $169,000.
Lucid also claims up to 900W fast charging, for the potential of adding up to 300 miles of range in just 20 minutes, as well as two-way charging from vehicle-to-grid, as well as vehicle-to-vehicle (or Air-to-Air).
Lucid Motors CEO (and former Model S chief engineer) Peter Rawlinson claims the Air isn’t aiming directly for the Model S, but rather Mercedes S-Class owners. Yeah, right. In performance, specs, and market positioning, it’s clear who the Air is gunning for. In a veiled dig at his former employer, Rawlinson emphasized the importance of fit and finish, and precise panel gaps.
The styling, in and out, has a futuristic, minimalist quality to it. Such terms were also used at the Model S’ reveal, but Lucid seems to take the futuristic, minimalist approach a step further. It’s more angular and straight-edged than the more organic-looking Model S, which was vaguely evocative of Jaguar and other premium brands. If anything, the Air looks like some of the newer Peugeot, Citroën, and DS models. Unlike the Model S, the Air is a conventional notchback sedan. However, making up for its relative cargo versatility disadvantage to Tesla is a much larger frunk than the Model S, or any of its other competitors.
But the one aspect that stood out and impressed me the most was the compactness of the drive motors in the Air. Each motor is rated at 620 hp, and is smaller than a beer keg. The “beer keg” analogy is used a lot in the EV world, but in this case, it’s even more apt, since the Air dispenses with an external gear reduction, and instead packs the gear reduction into the motor with a planetary gearset. The compact packaging of the motor and power inverter means the Air has an expansive interior.
The photos of the production-intent model are somewhat less lavish and indulgent than those of the concept, which had power-reclining rear buckets and a prominent center console. That’s not to say such a configuration couldn’t be offered in the future.
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Unlike Nikola’s Trevor Milton, with his boastful claims of purchase commitments and tens of thousands of units of future production, Rawlinson admits, “I think it’s really important to approach this with a healthy dose of humility. Until we’ve got the Air in production, we haven’t achieved a thing.”
So is Lucid the next Tesla? It’s hard to say at this point. Certainly, Rawlinson has an intimate knowledge of the Model S and the inner workings at the company, as well as Tesla’s technology (at least from seven years ago). There are certainly a lot of Tesla expats at Lucid, with its board reading like a who’s who of former Tesla executives.
It’s far too early to declare success or failure yet, but Lucid seems to have a gravitas and commitment to engineering excellence that’s absent at a lot of other EV and alternative fuel startups. It will be fascinating to see what the future holds in store for Lucid in the coming years.
(Images courtesy Lucid Motors)
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