Roman and Max finally get to drive the new Lucid Air GT… at a shopping mall – with three additional passengers.
We’ve chomped at the bit to sample the Lucid Air GT (or any Lucid) for several months now. Honestly, it frustrating enough when we try to deal with Tesla’s nonexistent PR, but we were hoping for more from Lucid. Perhaps it has to do with the fact that Lucid was started by a former Tesla employee – Lucid Motors CEO Peter Rawlinson. He was the vehicle engineer for the Tesla Model S, before departing Tesla.
Regardless of our lack of access, Roman opted to jump on an opportunity to test a Lucid Air GT at one of their boutiques at the Cherry Creek Mall, near Denver, Colorado. TFLEV, our newest YouTube channel, represents a team that owns, or has owned everything from the Nissan Leaf, to Tesla Model X – and several more. Yet, we’ve never seen an EV quite like this Lucid Air GT.
The Lucid Air comes is six trims, each with unique specifications:
- The Air Pure makes 480 hp, and has a 406 mile range
- Lucid’s Air Touring makes 620 hp, and has a 406 mile range
- Our tester, the Air Grand Touring makes 816 hp, and has a 516 mile range
- The Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance, makes 1,050 hp, and has a maximum range of 446 miles
- Lucid’s Air Dream Edition Range makes 933 hp, and currently holds one of the highest available range in the business at 520 miles
- The Air Dream Edition Performance is the most powerful making 1,111 hp. It has a maximum range of 471 miles.
Two additional points to make: all Lucid Airs come standard with all-wheel drive (AWD) and have a impressive drag coefficient of 0.21. To put that in to perspective, the Bugatti Chiron has a drag coefficient of 0.35 in top speed mode.
The Lucid Air is claimed to have the fastest charging capability in the industry, with 300kW peak charging power. Also, the automaker claims that it can charge up to 300 miles in 20 minutes – at maximum wattage. The vehicle comes standard with a multi-functional, bi-directional (V2X) capability onboard charger as well.
At 195.88-inches in length, it’s about an inch shorter than a Tesla Model S, but their wheelbases are almost identical.
Despite the frustration of a lack of access, Roman, Max and I are absolutely intrigued by the numbers and the potential of the Lucid Air. Keep in mind, the base model which will forego AWD for a rear-drive option will have a base price south of $90,000. Our tester was closer to $154,000. It’s steep, but we expect much less expensive models from this automaker in the future.
Check out Roman and Max’s test drive in the Lucid Air GT!
