The Lucid Air electric luxury sedan just keeps getting more and more promising. Its opulent interior, advanced technology, exceptional speed and generous range all make it seem quite appealing and, even better, competitive. We were impressed when the Air easily drove 400 miles on a single charge. Now, we’ve got an even better range figure for the Lucid air: 517 miles.
To be clear, that’s not its official EPA rating, but it’s what an independent range test by FEV North America came up with at its Auburn Hills, Mich., technical center, using EPA procedures. If that holds up — or is even in the same ballpark — when the EPA performs its own testing, that’ll make the Lucid Air the longest-range EV available when it finally goes on sale in early 2021.
Lucid Motors CEO/CTO Peter Rawlinson credits a number of features and systems for the Air’s impressive range, and it’s not just about sheer battery capacity. “I believe that our 900-volt architecture, our race-proven battery packs, miniaturized motors and power electronics, integrated transmission systems, aerodynamics, chassis and thermal systems, software, and overall system efficiency have now reached a stage where they collectively set a new standard and deliver a host of ‘world’s firsts,’” he said in a statement.
As for the actual size of the battery used in the test, the answer is unclear. A Lucid spokesperson told Autoblog, "We have not announced the specific size of our battery pack, but I can tell you that while we originally stated back in 2016 that the Lucid Air would have a 130 kWh pack, it’s gotten considerably smaller since then." Interesting.
Back in February, Lucid teased the Dream Edition of the upcoming Lucid Air — a first-edition model that was supposed to be revealed at the 2020 New York Auto Show — and the company has been taking $1,000 deposits for the car since December. The standard Air is said to start at around $60,000 before incentives. A flagship trim with a larger battery pack could cost over $100,000, and could deliver roughly 1,000 horsepower, do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds and have a top speed beyond 200 mph.
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