Lucid Air revealed: Is this really ‘the best car in the world’?

Lucid Motors has at last pulled the covers off the production version of its Tesla-trumping Air sedan, with the brand’s design chief boldly declaring his mission was to create the “best car in the world”.

What the brand likely really means, though, is “better then Tesla”, with what will be Lucid’s key rival clearly the brand’s number-one target.

Up to today’s official unveiling, there’s been a drip-feed of Lucid Air information, with the Silicon Valley company already taking Tesla’s crown as the world’s fastest electric sedan – at least in prototype form – as well as a Tesla-trumping range of more than 500 miles (800km).

The Air will be initially offered in three trim levels, the Touring, Grand Touring and Dream Edition, with pricing from US$95,000, $US139,000 and $US169,000 respectively ($131,000, $191,000 and $233,000). All three will launch in the USA next year.

Cheaper models are coming though, including an entry-level model simply called ‘Air’, which is scheduled for a 2022 launch and will wear an asking price of “below US$80,000”.

And that, too, is just the beginning, with company CEO Peter Rawlinson today promising the “mass-produceable” nature of Lucid’s technology will see it filter down to other smaller, cheaper models – including a likely rival to the Tesla Model 3 and VW ID.3.

“The luxury and comfort, incredible performance, unrivalled range – it’s out of this world,” he says. “And we’ll be able to cascade this technology down through different price ranges.”

“Hello range confidence”

At the centre of the Lucid’s sales pitch is its truly impressive range, with the brand’s top brass promising its US customers that long road trips (from NYC to Washington DC, or Silicon Valley to LA) are achievable in the Air, with Rawlinson confirming the brand had developed in-house battery technology that is 15 per cent more efficient than its closest rival.

The Air’s biggest battery pack is a 113kWh unit, and employs the same 2170-format cylindrical cells as the Tesla Model 3 and Y, sourced from LG Chem,. But the range is more impressive because of what Lucid says is class-leading efficiency.

“If there’s one key metric for the prowess of an EV company, surely it would range,” Rawlinson says. “And I’m delighted that the Lucid Air has been independently validated at achieving over 500 miles in range.

“But anyone can go and stuff a huge battery in an electric car and get a huge range. That’s dumb range. What we want to do is create smart range. We’ve done it with a significantly smaller battery pack, and are over 15 percent net more efficient than our nearest competitor.

“I like to think of is as goodbye range anxiety, and hello range confidence.”

Lucid is claiming another breakthrough in the thermal technology of its vehicles, promising the Lucid Air will “take 300kW of fast charge, over 900 volts, no-one else has that. It’s groundbreaking.”

The Air will also accrue almost 500km in range in just 20 minutes when plugged into a DC fast charger.

Fastest electric sedan on the planet

The specs around the Lucid Air are staggering, with the brand promising it will knock off the sprint to 60mph (around 98km/h) in just 2.5 seconds in tis most powerful guise, owing largely to the massive 805kW on offer from its dual ActiveCore motors.

That’s in the top-spec Dream Edition. The Grand Tourer will produce 596kW, while the Tourer is good for 462kW.

Killer cabin tech

The headline-grabbing interior tech is the Lucid Glass Cockpit Display – a 34-inch, 5k curved screen that stretches from the driver’s door to the centre of the cabin that’s designed to feel like the cockpit of a fighter jet and contains all your key driving information.

A second (also massive) screen is positioned between the front seats (where it’s easier for the passenger to access), and the Lucid Air is equipped with wi-fi and Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant. Many features of the Air can be controlled through a phone app, too.

Biggest ‘frunk’ in the business

Rawlinson describes it simply as “the biggest frunk ever made”, with the Lucid Air to offer impressive space for cargo and passengers.

Lucid says the Air exploits the ‘Lucid Space Concept’ to achieve its frunk capacity of more than 280 litres and a combined 739 litres total storage when the boot is added. The frunk is 89 percent bigger than in the Model S, and the brand is extolling the virtues of its backseat, too.

“People want to get in the backseat first. And that tells you how special the experience is, and how much room there is back there, and that you don’t feel ignored, you feel like you’re in the car having a conversation with all occupants,” says Lucid Motors’ designer Sue Magnusson.

Underpinning all this tech and space is the Lucid Electric Advanced Platform (or LEAP), which houses the battery pack under the passengers and a glass roof over their heads.

The bad news…

Now for the hard part…

Lucid Motors is yet to announce an Australian launch plan.

As far as we’re aware there are no plans to launch the Air here, at least in the medium term.

One issue is the price. The prices mentioned above are without Australian taxes, which include a 33 percent luxury car tax.

By way of comparison, the Porsche Taycan sells for about US$104,000 and its starting price here is $191,000.

So an Air would likely be upwards of $180,000 in Australia.

Lucid also has bigger targets, all of which have the steering wheel on the opposite side to us. That will be its early focus.