Zero to 60 mph in 1.89 seconds. Zero to 100 in 3.84 seconds. Quarter mile time? 8.95 seconds.
They sound like comedian e-book numbers. They absolutely belong to some unique automotive with seating for 2 and cargo room for one telephone, proper?
Nope. A household sedan with room for 5 and per week’s value of suitcases.
Meet the Lucid Air Sapphire.
Focused on the Plaid
Electrical automotive startup Lucid Motors this week revealed specs for its long-awaited high-performance 4-door, the Air Sapphire. It’s a super-powered model of Lucid’s Air sedan – the electrical automotive with the longest EPA-certified vary available on the market this 12 months (516 miles).
Focused on the Telsa Mannequin S Plaid, the Air Sapphire makes use of three electrical motors to realize its absurd numbers. They make a mixed 1,234 horsepower.
The numbers are spectacular, however so is the worth tag. The Air Sapphire begins at $249,000. You may get two Mannequin S Plaids for that worth and have sufficient left over for a Mannequin 3, offered you qualify for the federal EV tax credit score obtainable on that automotive.
We should always notice that nobody exterior the corporate has verified the claims. EV builders have revealed outlandish efficiency stats prior to now and struggled to show them. Tesla CEO Elon Musk famously insisted the Plaid can be the primary sedan to publish a 0-60 time in beneath two seconds, then prevented journalists from testing the declare with out agreeing to unrealistic situations like a take a look at observe coated in a sticky substance.
When Lucid first introduced plans for the Sapphire, it insisted the automotive would obtain a sub-two-second time “with no extra-cost tools upgrades or protracted preconditioning routines.”
That declare is notably absent from press supplies giving the automotive’s specs.
Two Street Modes, Three Observe Modes
Lucid does say the automotive has not one however three totally different observe modes – “Dragstrip, Sizzling Lap, and Endurance, to additional tune and situation the powertrain and battery for optimum efficiency.” For each day driving, Clean and Swift modes are extra acceptable.
It makes use of “torque vectoring management algorithms and traction management developed in-house” as effectively.
Different modifications from the usual Air embrace “an exterior that’s optimized for each downforce and effectivity at excessive speeds, in addition to an unique Sapphire Blue exterior paint mixed with Lucid’s Stealth Look trim.” It rides on Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires and comes with “detachable carbon-fiber aero disk wheel covers.”
Getting out and including wheel covers, we suppose, won’t rely as a protracted preconditioning routine.
Inside, the Sapphire will get trim-exclusive sport seats, a 21-speaker immersive audio system, and an unique inside colour theme, Sapphire Mojave.
