As part of its testing process, Lucid Motors recently took one of its Air EV prototypes to TRC Ohio’s oval track and managed to bring the electric car to a top speed of 217 miles per hour.
This top speed, it should be realized, is only the car’s “top speed” because it’s electronically limited to be — in other words, it could go faster, but Lucid Motors understandably doesn’t want to unnecessarily damage the lithium-ion battery pack.
Still, going by comments made by the company, it seems that the Lucid Air is being designed with high-speed cruising in mind. In a comment that sounds like it’s directed at Germans who insist that easily going 90+ mph is a necessary feature of all cars. …
“The Lucid Air will compete with the best vehicles in the biggest markets around the world. In at least one of these markets, there is an expectation of high-speed cruising that we intend to satisfy.”
Interesting, I guess that’s one way that Lucid is intending to distinguish itself from Tesla.
From our sister site, Nicolas Zart (who rode in the Lucid Air), writes: “In CleanTechnica‘s initial test ride at the Los Angeles Petersen Museum, we walked away highly impressed with the Lucid Motors Air. The EV revealed impressive untapped potential performance. With a not-yet-sorted-out chassis, off-the-shelf Pirelli tires, and little time to coordinate the handling dynamics, the Lucid Air mule took us up a spiraling ramp at 25 MPH, zig-zagged effortlessly between obstacles, and came to a halt without brutalizing us. That was already impressive, but when I found it did this without the use of any traction control systems, I was really impressed. We’re not too surprised now to see this car handle 217 MPH … and perhaps even more soon.”
With regard to the high-speed record of 217 mph mentioned above, here’s a video shot from inside the cockpit of the prototype being tested:
Autoblog provides more: “Lucid says oval track testing is crucial in finding areas in need of improvement that virtual or static testing could never uncover. Now that the prototype has been taken to its limits, Lucid can return to the test track with a hopefully improved car… Lucid also says being capable of 200+ mph isn’t in contrast with its green values. ‘High-speed capability does not compromise our mission to develop a highly efficient vehicle. On the contrary, the focus on maximizing range provides the high power and aerodynamic efficiency that enables higher speeds.’ The Air is expected to achieve 100 miles per gallon equivalent, while the Ferrari LaFerrari returns 14 mpg combined.”
That’s certainly an interesting comparison. 🙂
And here are a few closing comments from Nicolas again:
“I feel Lucid has a serious contender in the EV field. The Air offers serious performance potential and if the company hits its $60,000 starting price (however, detuned), it will mean a lot of bang for the buck. I did ask Peter Rowlinson, CEO at Lucid, and David Mosely, Director of Powertrain and the battery system brain behind the Air, to develop a small series of Air stripped of any luxury items with bare-bone performance in mind. They did smile and liked the idea. Perhaps we can look forward to that?
“In the meantime, we applaud Lucid’s success in this short amount of time. The Lucid Air reaching an electronically limited speed of 217 MPH pushes the EV envelop even more and challenges exotic carmakers to seriously get onboard the electric drivetrain.”
Related:
The Lucid Motors Air Is Amazing! (Original Review & Pics & Video — Part 1)
The Lucid Motors Air Wipes The Competition! (Original Review, Pictures & Video — Part 2)
As far as I know 217 mph exceeds the speed limit anywhere in the USA.
Why do car companies still build cars that people and the planet don’t need???
All these answers and more are in the article above. 🙂
You wouldn’t say that if Model S was as fast…
So much better than Tesla!