Watch The 1,234bhp Lucid Air Sapphire Run a Sub-9 Second Quarter Mile

Just looking at the numbers on paper, the Lucid Air Sapphire is mind-boggling. Three motors, 1,234bhp and a sub-two second 0-62mph time is nothing to flinch at. Now, we’ve had it verified it can do a sub-nine-second quarter-mile time too.

In its self-released video, Lucid has had former Stig Ben Collins behind the wheel at Sonoma Raceway’s strip, clocking in at 8.989 seconds at 155.19mph.

For context, that’s over a tenth quicker than what a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport has managed, and quicker still than the all-conquering Tesla Model S Plaid. Granted, it’s not the fastest production car over the quarter mile - that still goes to the Rimac Nevera and its barely-believable 8.26 sprint. For a five-seat family car though, it’s not bad going.

In addition, Lucid has released a separate video of Collins taking the Sapphire around Sonoma’s circuit to showcase its handling capabilities, too. Take his comments with a pinch of salt as he’s on the Lucid payroll, though he describes it as a “monster” and adds “It’s nimble. I can fine-tune it on the throttle. You can see my steering inputs are quite surgical”.

You can’t quite yet buy a Sapphire, with the current range-topping 1,126bhp Air Dream Edition the most potent available to order, but it shouldn’t be far off now. Lucid is yet to offer the Air in the UK, though a Dream Edition will set you back €218,000 (approx. £190,000) in Germany - so expect the Sapphire to carry a substantial increase.

It’s easy to knock Tesla (and often with good reason), but it does make the Model S Plaid look pretty spectacular value with a £100,000 price tag - provided you can find one in stock.