HIGH ROAD

HIGH ROAD AIR FORCE

Capable of gliding up to 520 miles on a single charge, the 2022 Lucid Air is a true game changer

By Howard Walker

I’ve gazed at the future of four-wheeled luxury, and it’s got a plug attached.

Right around now, Lucid Motors out in Casa Grande, Arizona, is ramping up production of its groundbreaking all-electric Lucid Air fourdoor luxury sedan.

You might have seen the headlines. The flagship Air Dream Performance Edition will deliver a staggering 1,100 horsepower. That’s enough to catapult it from standstill to 60 mph in an eyewatering, heart-palpitating 2.5 seconds. That’s not just supercar fast, it’s hypercar fast.

Yet, take the long and winding road to grandma’s house and the battery will give a real-world, EPA-approved, best-in-the-industry range of 520 miles. That’s LA to San Fran on a single charge. Range anxiety? What range anxiety?

While this highfalutin halo model stickers at $170,500—the initial run of 520 sold out faster than tickets to an Ariana Grande concert—there are plenty more affordable, less acceleratively unnerving versions to choose from. Take, for example, last year’s starter Lucid, the Air Pure, which boasts 480 horses, a still-impressive 406mile range, and a price tag of $78,900. That’s a nontrivial $12 grand less than the equivalent Tesla Model S, or more than $23,000 less than the brand-new electric Mercedes EQS, which has a range of 350 miles—almost 60 less than the Lucid.

This is all in addition to Lucid’s staggering ability to fast charge. Plug it in and you can add up to 300 miles of battery in 20 minutes. In a serious rush to pick up the kids? Just 60 seconds of 350-volt, fast-charger juice can deliver 20 miles of range.

What this carmaker has produced with its Lucid Air is the luxury sedan of the future. See it in the metal or, in my case, on the floor at the Lucid Studio showroom in West Palm Beach, and you can’t help but be impressed.

Size-wise, the Air is almost a perfect match

POWER FILE

PRICE: $170,500 FOR

DREAM EDITION MOTORS: 2 X ELECTRIC POWER: 1,111

HP TORQUE: 1,025 LB-FT

TRANSMISSION: 1-SP

AUTOMATIC 0-60: 2.5

SECONDS TOP SPEED: 168 MPH LENGTH/WIDTH: 195/76 INCHES WEIGHT: 5,050 POUNDS WHY WE

LOVE IT: BECAUSE IT SETS with its ace rivals, the Tesla Model S and

A NEW BENCHMARK IN Porsche’s dynamic Taycan. Yes, that bar-

ELECTRIC LUXURY. of-Dove-shaped body could have been a little edgier or more visually dramatic. But gaze at it in profile and savor that low, arching roofline, the pinched waist, and those muscular haunches over the wheels. The contrasting roof frame color makes all the difference.

It comes with some impressive design features too. The stunning glass roof is more like a canopy on a fighter jet, with the windshield flowing seamlessly to a roll-over beam behind the driver’s head. Then it’s glass all the way back to the rear deck. While there’s no built-in sunshade or Mercedes-style electrochromic darkening, I’m told the glass has a special coating to reduce heat and soften sunlight—pretty essential here in the Sunshine State.

T h e c h o i c e o f i n t e r i o r m a t e r i a l s i s f i r s t - c l a s s , w i t h l o t s o f o p e n p o r e w o o d , g l o v e - s o f t n a p a l e a t h e r , s a t i n m e t a l , a n d e v e n a l i n e n l i k e f a b r i c m a d e o u t o f r e c y c l e d p l a s t i c b o t t l e s . N o , i t d o e s n ’ t h a v e t h e m i l e - w i d e g l a s s s c r e e n s y o u g e t i n M e r c e d e s ’ n e w E Q S . B u t t h e 3 4 - i n c h 5 K d i s p l a y c u r v e s b e a u t i f u l l y i n f r o n t o f t h e d r i v e r a n d h a s c r y s t a l - c l e a r g r a p h i c s .

This roomy sedan comes with stretch-out space in the back and the option of rear seats that individually recline. It’s practical too, with that high-lifting, low-load-height trunk lid revealing a two-level area with more than 26 cubic feet of room for luggage. And don’t forget there’s 9.9 cubic feet in the front trunk as well.

Lucid plans to build fewer than 600 cars this year, stepping up to 20,000 in 2022. That being said, I’m expecting the Lucid brand won’t really take off until it rolls out its highly anticipated Gravity electric SUV, which is due to arrive in the second half of 2023. Tesla should be «scared. Very scared.

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