The world’s fastest electric sedan: Lucid Air smashes Tesla speed record

Lucid Motors is claiming its soon-to-be-revealed Air EV is now the fastest electric sedan on the planet, with a prototype clocking a staggering 9.9sec quarter-mile sprint in California.

The Californian company has released a video to back up the claim, with a prototype Air recording a 9.912sec quarter mile at 232km/h.

That is very fast, and not just in the EV world. In fact, it’s faster than the 9.9-second run recorded by the circa US$3m Bugatti Chiron in 2016.

But Lucid has a bigger scalp in mind, with the Air – if it can be repeated with a production vehicle – having toppled the Tesla Model S, and stolen Elon Musk’s crown as maker of the world’s fastest EV.  The Tesla Model S, equipped with Cheetah Stance, recorded 10.4sec for the quarter mile.

What’s more, Lucid makes the point that the results are more than a one-off, promising “the Air is able to achieve quarter-mile times as low as 9.9 seconds on a consistent, repeatable basis. To date, it is the only electric sedan able to achieve a quarter-mile time under 10 seconds, all with an uncompromised package offering room for five passengers and class-leading interior and storage space.”

It’s the latest in a string of bold claims for Lucid, with the most recent announcement being that the Air sedan will travel more than 500 miles (800km) between recharges. The four-door sedan will reportedly come in a choice of rear- or all-wheel drive, topping out at 805kW in dual-motor, all-wheel-drive guise.

“When the Lucid Air comes to market next spring, the world will see that we have developed the best electric vehicle technology possible by a wide margin and effectively created a new benchmark for EVs,” says Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Motors.

“The result is nothing short of a technological tour de force in every facet upon which a luxury performance car is measured.”

The Lucid Air will be revealed in production guise in an online debut on September 9. While an Australian launch is yet to be confirmed, the brand has suggested our market will  likely form part of the brand’s global roadmap in coming years.