The tri-motor Lucid EV completed a quarter mile in 8.989 seconds at 155 mph.
With the more potentLucid Air Sapphire now production-ready, it is only a matter of time before the EV takes on a quarter-mile drag strip. That day has arrived, and Lucid Motors tapped British racing driver Ben Collins - alsoknown as The Stig- to do the honors in clocking a blistering quarter-mile time.
The time? 8.989 seconds at 155 mph at the Sonoma Raceway in California. That is close to the initial claim of 8.95 seconds at 158 mph. This makes the Air Sapphireone of the fastest production carsto run a quarter-mile, beating the 9.23-second time of direct rival Tesla Model S Plaid.
In the world of drag racing, two-tenths of a second is quite a margin already, and the EV did a sub-nine-second run - a club joined by the Rimac Nevera. Propelling the Air Sapphire is a tri-motor powertrain capable of generating 1,234 horsepower and 1,430 lb-of torque. Lucid claims the model can get from zero to 60 mph in just 1.89 seconds.
One of the factors that helped theLucid Air Sapphirepost a quick quarter-mile sprint is aerodynamics. The model isamong the most aerodynamic cars, which reduces drag on the strip. This also provides better range, with the EPA giving the EV an estimated range of 427 miles.
Collins also took the Air Sapphire for a lightning lap at the same raceway. All you can hear him talk about is how impressed he was with power output. Compared to the Model S Plaid, the tri-motor Lucid EV makes 214 hp more, which translated well with the results on the drag strip.
But all these performance capabilities come at a whopping price tag of $249,000. You can buy two Model S Plaids with that amount of money. Maybe an incredible lap record at the Nurburgring or Pikes Peak can help convince those who find the asking price ridiculously expensive.
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