Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
11/8/23 8:30 a.m.

More than $80,000. More than 5000 pounds.

Longer than a new BMW M5.

Wider than a new Camaro. The Lucid Air is a big car, but it’s an even bigger moment in automotive history.

We spent a week and 600 miles in one to answer a simple question: Does Lucid’s Air represent the future of performance cars? Or is it …

Read the rest of the story

Duke
Duke MegaDork
11/8/23 9:47 a.m.

>5,000 lbs?

Yikes, though.

 

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand Director of Marketing & Digital Assets
11/8/23 10:16 a.m.

To be fair, I didn't weigh this particular car since I was 1000 miles away from my scales. Car and Driver weighed theirs at just under 5000 lbs, while I've seen around 5200 quoted elsewhere. Lucid doesn't publish a weight on their site.

I will say that this car honestly doesn't feel that heavy, instead choosing to simply violate the laws of physics.

Colin Wood
Colin Wood Associate Editor
11/8/23 10:37 a.m.

Definitely seems like a "if you have the means, why not?" sort of car.

TR7
TR7 Reader
11/8/23 11:00 a.m.

Love these things. A neighbor has one and its awesome, far and above any Tesla I have been in. 

Duke
Duke MegaDork
11/8/23 11:05 a.m.

In reply to TR7 :

I have seen 2 in the metal.  It is a fairly handsome animal.

If I had the money, I'd buy one.

 

NorseDave
NorseDave HalfDork
11/8/23 9:05 p.m.

They do look nice.  Seems likely to go the way of Fisker (ie, out of business).  They lost $516k per car they delivered this quarter.  Seems fairly unsustainable, given they haven't been improving that, and the production is going down.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/9/23 6:31 a.m.

I like the Polestar 2 dual motor more than any Tesla, even though the acceleration isn't even remotely close to that of the plaid. 

 

The Lucid Air is a Mercedes compared to Telsa's fast Buick.

Captdownshift (Forum Supporter)
Captdownshift (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
11/9/23 6:38 a.m.

In reply to NorseDave :

So come Barrett Jackson 2068 one will fetch 7 figures? 

iansane
iansane GRM+ Memberand Dork
11/9/23 10:07 a.m.

There's a Lucid dealer right near my work and I see them prowling around lower Seattle regularly. It genuinely looks like a background car from RoboCop in that setting. It's such a massive presence that seems to float down the street. Beautiful cars. Not for me though.

Mndsm
Mndsm MegaDork
11/9/23 10:09 a.m.

I like how nearest I can tell the CEO isn't a supervillain. 

350z247
350z247 Reader
11/9/23 2:14 p.m.

I have heard nothing but good things about these, especially compared to Tesla; however, it's hideous. Looks shouldn't matter, but they do.

Chris_V
Chris_V UberDork
11/9/23 2:40 p.m.
Mndsm said:

I like how nearest I can tell the CEO isn't a supervillain. 

No, but most of the money is coming from Suadi Arabia.

 

I test drove one earlier in the year when my neighbor was ordering his. drove around the undulating, twisty roads around Great Falls, VA and man, it feels way lighter and more agile as you're hustling it than it's actual mass would indicate. And the interior is very nice.

I'd love one with that interior and this exterior:

 

 

Chris_V
Chris_V UberDork
11/9/23 2:41 p.m.
350z247 said:

I have heard nothing but good things about these, especially compared to Tesla; however, it's hideous. Looks shouldn't matter, but they do.

Yeah, looks matter and I think they are friggin' gorgeous, with a real presence going down the road.

RyanGreener (Forum Supporter)
RyanGreener (Forum Supporter) HalfDork
3/1/24 6:45 p.m.

With the release of the RWD Pure and the rave reviews, I test drove a AWD Pure today and the E39 M5 comparison is quite accurate. This is the first EV I was looking forward to driving and enjoyed driving. The RWD Pure will not only be cheaper, but about ~600-700 lbs lighter than the AWD one. I sort of feel like I have something to look forward to if Lucid (assuming they survive with Saudi help) or legacy manufacturers start trying to make "driver EVs" and not computers on wheels.

Pete. (l33t FS)
Pete. (l33t FS) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/1/24 6:53 p.m.
Tom Suddard said:

To be fair, I didn't weigh this particular car since I was 1000 miles away from my scales. Car and Driver weighed theirs at just under 5000 lbs, while I've seen around 5200 quoted elsewhere. Lucid doesn't publish a weight on their site.

I will say that this car honestly doesn't feel that heavy, instead choosing to simply violate the laws of physics.

Did they weigh it with a full battery or a half-charge?

Rodan
Rodan UltraDork
3/1/24 7:12 p.m.

The Sapphire was pretty impressive at C&D's Lightning Lap... 2:44.3

https://www.caranddriver.com/features/a46594739/2024-lucid-air-sapphire-lightning-lap-2024/

 

rustomatic
rustomatic HalfDork
3/1/24 7:13 p.m.

The original Fisters were 5500 pounds, but I think they had internal combustion charging engines on board as well; they looked awesome, though.

Everyone has rated the Lucid as awesome in tests across the board.  For that, one should hope they survive.  Not enough attention has been focused on the engineering within however, and that is where/why they should survive, if only as a firm that designs and makes amazing things for other OEMs . . .

grover
grover GRM+ Memberand Dork
3/1/24 11:41 p.m.

In reply to Rodan :

Extremely impressive. 

Harvey
Harvey GRM+ Memberand SuperDork
3/28/24 2:09 p.m.

Was looking around at new cars and this one popped up on my radar. Good looking vehicle. I think once the charging infrastructure is figured out and I'm not throwing $90k at the thing I'd love to have one.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
3/28/24 3:18 p.m.
Duke said:

>5,000 lbs?

Yikes, though.

 

Hail Satanists!

Honestly, not bad for an EV. The Polestar 2 I keep looking at weighs almost the same as my Land Rover Discovery at 4800 pounds. Even the Tesla Model 3 weighs around 4000 pounds.

84FSP
84FSP UberDork
3/28/24 4:02 p.m.

Very interesting review.  The Lucid team has done an immense amount of work around composite materials for weight reduction and structural rigidity.  This seems to show in your chassis and handling commentary.  They are the first to develop direct coolant on the E-Motor stator translating to massive efficiency improvement in design etc.

Despite their current financial teething/growth issues they are radically more stable than others like Fisker and Rivian due to enormous Saudi government investment into them.  They are going to be one of the companies that succeed.

Daniel Wise
Daniel Wise GRM+ Memberand New Reader
10/13/24 2:03 p.m.

Well I know one of the Lucid vehicle dynamics engineers races a vintage Formula Ford very well, so he might know something about vehicle dynamics.....

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