Power wars! Tesla and Lucid butt heads
Tesla versus Lucid is rapidly turning into the 21st century electrified version of the famed Ford versus GM muscle-car wars.
The two California companies have been one-upping each other on performance over the last few weeks, just as the Detroit rivals did back in the 1960s.
It would be amusing if the numbers being posted weren’t so gobsmacking.
Lucid fired the latest shot in the performance wars, posting a video showing the tri-motor version of the new Air sedan scorching through the quarter-mile in just 9.245 sec and 157.3mph (252km/h).
That’s quick enough to lay claim to the Air being the fastest production car in the world – faster than any ICE-powered car you’d care to name that’s rolled off an assembly line.
The only problem is the tri-motor Air, expected to be called GT in production, is still about 12 months away from actually being available from Lucid’s new Arizona factory.
In fact Lucid hasnt built a single production-spec Air of any type yet.
And watching Lucid chassis and dynamics engineering boss David Lickfold being strapped into the Air in the video at Sears Point racetrack in California, it was obvious this gutted and rollcaged car was not production spec.
And then there’s the Tesla Model S Plaid.
As fast as Lucid says the Air can go, Tesla says its 820kW tri-motor version of the Model S can go faster. It’s claiming a sub-2.0 sec 0-60mph (96km/h), sub-9.0 sec quarter, a 200mph top speed and – just for good measure – a 520 mile range on a battery charge that tops the dual-motor version of the Air by three mph.
Mind you, while Tesla has posted video of the Plaid circulating at Laguna Seca at a pace faster than a McLaren P1 it is yet to back up those claims.
Tesla says the Plaid will hit the market in late 2021, so it will be on US roads soon after the GT.
Taken as read right now, Plaid has the edge then. But 12 months is a long time in development terms for EVs. As Lucid notes in the blurb accompanying its video: “Stay tuned for more”.
Lucid has had a habit of dripfeeding information, hinting a big number is coming and then actually topping it with an even more impressive reality. It’s done that with acceleration, range and charging time.
Apart from the QT and speed, Lucid didn’t say more about the tri-motor’s capabilities. For instance, there’s no power claim, although it could be well over 1000kW. So the potential upside is huge.
No doubt, Tesla isn’t sitting on its hands either. The spec as rolled out at Battery Day by Elon Musk could well be significantly different by the time production reality hits.
And one other thing worth noting. Plaid will be available in Australia at a drive-away price around $238,000. Sadly, there’s no timeline on the the Lucid Air coming here as yet.
