One day after another disappointing financial report, Lucid Motors has finally revealed the official specs for their latest variant of the luxury Air sedan – the Lucid Air Sapphire.
The Sapphire was first unveiled at Monterey Car Week last year, with the automaker promising the tri-motor variant, with two electric motors powering each rear wheel, and the third motor powering the front wheels would produce over 1,200 horsepower, allowing the Sapphire to reach 60mph in under 2 seconds and 100mph in under 4 seconds.
On Wednesday the automaker confirmed they were able to live up to those claims. The Air Sapphire comes with 1,234 horsepower and 1,430lb-ft of torque. With that power the luxury electric sedan can reach 60mph in 1.89 seconds, and complete the quarter-mile in 8.95 seconds at 158mph (254km/h). That is approaching the Sapphire’s top speed, which according to Lucid is 205mph (330km/h).
That performance doesn’t compromise the range, with the Sapphire able to travel 427 miles (687km) on a full charge.
The natural comparison for the Lucid Air Sapphire is of course the Tesla Model S Plaid, and the specs are all pretty close. The Plaid has 1,020 horsepower, can reach 60mph in 1.99 seconds, run the quarter-mile in 9.23 seconds (officially, although owners have been able to go quicker), has a top speed of 200mph and can travel 396 miles (637km) on a full charge.
Where they differ by a much larger margin is the price. The Sapphire starts at US$249,000, or C$325,000, whereas the Plaid starts at less than half that figure, US$108,490 or C$148,990.
After teasing release candidate Sapphire’s last month, Lucid said production will officially begin in September with deliveries starting “soon after.”
Here are some of the other Sapphire specs released today by Lucid:
- Retuned front and rear springs, bushings, anti-roll bars, and steering software
- Unique adaptive damper control software and tuning for ABS, stability control, brake booster, and electronic power steering (EPS)
- Torque vectoring control algorithms and traction control developed in-house
- Revised front and rear suspension geometry to provide heightened steering response
- New carbon ceramic brakes: Front 420mm rotors with 10-piston calipers, rear 390mm rotors with 4-piston calipers
- Bespoke Aero Sapphire wheels, with diameters of 20 inches in the front and 21 inches in the rear, paired with co-developed Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires with a special Sapphire-specific compound
- Removable carbon fiber aero wheel covers with center lock nut
- Aluminum roof introduced to reduce total vehicle weight and lower the center of gravity
- Heated and ventilated front sports seats with additional bolster support that retain massage functionality
- Soft-close doors, power opening/closing trunk and frunk
- Ultra-fast 900V+ charging system
- Unique Sapphire-themed on-screen display presenting a lineup of four drive modes – Smooth, Swift, Sapphire, and Track – each influencing the character of the car and behavior of suspension, steering, brakes, torque vectoring, peak power and torque, and thermal controls.
- Elegant and intuitive Lucid UX with 34-inch floating Glass Cockpit
- Extensive over-the-air software update capability
- DreamDrive Pro, Lucid’s advanced driver assistance system, with 30+ features and future-ready hardware including the first automotive LIDAR in North America
- 21-speaker Surreal Sound Pro immersive audio system with Dolby Atmos compatibility
