Lucid Air
Dan Neil, Wall Street Journal 🔒 »
Designed in California and built in Arizona, the Air’s headline-making numbers are an estimated 451-520 miles of range, depending on model/trim—figures that handily exceed Tesla’s long-legged Model S Long Range (405 miles). As to how the 6-year-old EV start-up managed to outdistance the mighty Tesla, the short answer is higher system voltage. We’ll get there.
I spent a few hours last week driving one of the investor early-bird specials: the limited-edition, all-sold-out Air Dream Edition Performance, with a dual-motor array maxing out at 1,111 hp, which turns out to be enough. Hunkered down on optional 21-inch summer Pirellis, and with a center of gravity seemingly at the center of the Earth, the Air DEP hurtled through miles of California-redwood country like a mag-lev roller coaster, after which I needed a high-tech luxury bucket. Oh yeah, it hustles. The car’s 0-60 mph acceleration (2.42 seconds) would draw a roughing-the-passer penalty in football. Superb brakes, too.