The Lucid Air BEV’s 1080bhp Should Blow Out Your Cobwebs

Lucid Motors has revealed the mighty, Tesla- and Porsche-shredding performance of its first vehicle, the all-electric Air saloon.

The Californian start-up says the flagship version of the four-door execumobile will throw 1080bhp at the road via all four wheels and a motor on each axle. It should be good, they say, for a 0-62mph sprint in just 2.5 seconds (held back a little by its weight, no doubt), and the ability to clobber a standing quarter-mile on the head in just 9.9 seconds.

There will also be 620bhp and 800bhp versions if, for example, you’re sane and admit you don’t really need 1080bhp on the daily commute down the crowded Interstate. The more power you get, though, the more batteries you’ll have at your disposal and the more range you can expect. The 1080bhp car will use a 113kW power pack that should give the car a 517-mile range according to the US EPA standard.

It futuristic looks are functional as well as striking. Its drag coefficient is claimed to be a mere 0.21, which is somewhere between ‘wet ferret’ and ‘greased eel’.

The details of its charging setup are not yet public, but Lucid claims the car will be able to recoup 20 miles of range per minute at absolute peak mid-charge speeds via a DC fast-charger. In the real world that would balance back out to about 300 miles in 20 minutes. Lucid hasn’t stated what voltage the system will need to be, or whether the necessary infrastructure is commonplace yet.

There’s significantly less good news inside, where a low-mounted enormo-screen in portrait format looks pretty but will be a pig to use while driving. The driver also gets a 34-inch curved display, at 5k resolution, and features the controls for air movement, navigation and even things like exterior lighting. As proven by cars like the Mk8 VW Golf, migrating the car’s essential functions into touchscreen menus simply doesn’t work.

There’ll be four trim grades: base, Air Touring, Grand Touring and the slightly Barbie-esque ‘Dream Edition’ range-topper. The base model’s spec and prices are still to come, but the Air Touring starts at $95,000 (£73,000) and comes with 620bhp, leather seats and a choice of suitably sensible colours. Grand Touring models get 800bhp, 21-inch alloys and a panoramic glass roof, starting at $139,000.

You can also now play with the advanced new configurator, which is more like a video game than anything else. Choose from backgrounds with moving features and realistic audio overlays, but don’t let it distract you from choosing a car spec.

Go the whole nine yards and the Dream Edition costs $169,000 (about £130,000). For that you get the 1080bhp output, Eureka Gold paint, a top-end audio system and plush Nappa leather. Deliveries are ambitiously targeted for Spring 2021.