How long before all GDEs are delivered?

[Ron_Burgundy]

The DE has no real differentiating factor except the HP which, as @borski mentioned is kind of hard to justify for most folks when it’s already insanely fast. That HP effectively costs $14,500 +/- more. Badging is worthless and you don’t really get it earlier.

It doesn’t even have the “get it first” premium as they’re making GTs at the same time, per the Lucid folks who are from CA HQ and were in Tysons yesterday. As long as you are good without he HUD, there’s probably a 50/50 chance you could get a “regular” GT before the majority of the DEs are delivered.

 

[hmp10]

The DE has no real differentiating factor except the HP which, as @borski mentioned is kind of hard to justify for most folks when it’s already insanely fast. That HP effectively costs $14,500 +/- more. Badging is worthless and you don’t really get it earlier.

You're right that the main difference in the DE and the GT lies in the 242hp bump. In fairness, though, that's a smaller premium to get that much more power (if it were even available) than you would pay in moving to an AMG, M Series, or RS version of competing German brands.

Also, the DE will come with more than just special badging (which I also agree is worthless). There will at least be a $650 charge cable thrown in. An interesting question is whether the Gravity DE will come with free periodic maintenance as did the Air DE. (I'm guessing not, but here's hoping.)

That aside, though, don't be too quick to discount the value to many drivers of that extra horsepower. Of course, there's no added torque offered, but even the GT torque is almost certainly beyond the traction limits of the tires, so there's no real advantage to having more. Nick Twork has already admitted that the DE's added power will only really be noticeable at higher speeds. But that's the point, at least for me.

I have driven Air GTs as loaners during a couple of stints while our Air Dream Performance was in the shop. No one could argue that the GT is underpowered by any sane standard. Nevertheless, the added power of the DE-P imparted a "friskiness" to the Air's throttle response from speed like nothing I have ever experienced in any other car -- and I have owned MB AMGs, a Corvette, and three Audi R8s (two of them V10s). Even our Tesla Model S Plaid did not have quite the high-end punch of the Air DE-P. So I, for one, view the $14,500 DE premium as worth every penny -- especially in a 6,000-pound car. I have no desire to drive 100 or even 90 miles per hour. But I have a lot of fun in cars playing around below that when conditions permit.

 

[Ron_Burgundy]

You're right that the main difference in the DE and the GT lies in the 242hp bump. In fairness, though, that's a smaller premium to get that much more power (if it were even available) than you would pay in moving to an AMG, M Series, or RS version of competing German brands.

Also, the DE will come with more than just special badging (which I also agree is worthless). There will at least be a $650 charge cable thrown in. An interesting question is whether the Gravity DE will come with free periodic maintenance as did the Air DE. (I'm guessing not, but here's hoping.)

That aside, though, don't be too quick to discount the value to many drivers of that extra horsepower. Of course, there's no added torque offered, but even the GT torque is almost certainly beyond the traction limits of the tires, so there's no real advantage to having more. Nick Twork has already admitted that the DE's added power will only really be noticeable at higher speeds. But that's the point, at least for me.

I have driven Air GTs as loaners during a couple of stints while our Air Dream Performance was in the shop. No one could argue that the GT is underpowered by any sane standard. Nevertheless, the added power of the DE-P imparted a "friskiness" to the Air's throttle response from speed like nothing I have ever experienced in any other car -- and I have owned MB AMGs, a Corvette, and three Audi R8s (two of them V10s). Even our Tesla Model S Plaid did not have quite the high-end punch of the Air DE-P. So I, for one, view the $14,500 DE premium as worth every penny -- especially in a 6,000-pound car. I have no desire to drive 100 or even 90 miles per hour. But I have a lot of fun in cars playing around below that when conditions permit.

I guess my “biggest” issue with the DE, and I do have an order for one, so I am arguing against myself, is it doesn’t get priority delivery.

I had VIN 475 of the P90D model X and we got priority for the premium. That’s actually all I wanted. That was my hope when I placed my DE order.

Horsepower is whatever. If other drivers valued it, you wouldn’t be able to get a DE seven months after they started trying to sell them. I am really surprised they couldn’t sell 450 of them in that timeframe. To your point, the tires can’t handle the torque at the “lower” GT level. But I get your point about higher speeds. I DO think some folks value it, but clearly not enough.

 

[hmp10]

I am really surprised they couldn’t sell 450 of them in that timeframe.

I was, too. However, I'm probably something of an outlier use case. A lifelong fan of performance cars, I'm now at a time of life where the compromises they have brought in terms of ingress/egress, long-distance seating comfort with a need to shift positions frequently, and the leisure time to do a lot of day-tripping with similarly-situated friends have reset my priorities.

Thus far I've dealt with it by the schizophrenic vehicle purchases that now sit in the garage: an Air Dream Performance at one end and a Honda Odyssey minivan at the other. I never expected to see a vehicle such as the Gravity come down the pike -- something with the handling and performance prowess of a top-flight sports sedan (Jason Cammisa would even say a pure sports car) and the room and comfort of a minivan.

For the more typical SUV buyer, the Gravity Dream Edition probably just seems to be pointless excess. For me, it's a dream come true.

 

[borski]

You're right that the main difference in the DE and the GT lies in the 242hp bump. In fairness, though, that's a smaller premium to get that much more power (if it were even available) than you would pay in moving to an AMG, M Series, or RS version of competing German brands.

Also, the DE will come with more than just special badging (which I also agree is worthless). There will at least be a $650 charge cable thrown in. An interesting question is whether the Gravity DE will come with free periodic maintenance as did the Air DE. (I'm guessing not, but here's hoping.)

That aside, though, don't be too quick to discount the value to many drivers of that extra horsepower. Of course, there's no added torque offered, but even the GT torque is almost certainly beyond the traction limits of the tires, so there's no real advantage to having more. Nick Twork has already admitted that the DE's added power will only really be noticeable at higher speeds. But that's the point, at least for me.

I have driven Air GTs as loaners during a couple of stints while our Air Dream Performance was in the shop. No one could argue that the GT is underpowered by any sane standard. Nevertheless, the added power of the DE-P imparted a "friskiness" to the Air's throttle response from speed like nothing I have ever experienced in any other car -- and I have owned MB AMGs, a Corvette, and three Audi R8s (two of them V10s). Even our Tesla Model S Plaid did not have quite the high-end punch of the Air DE-P. So I, for one, view the $14,500 DE premium as worth every penny -- especially in a 6,000-pound car. I have no desire to drive 100 or even 90 miles per hour. But I have a lot of fun in cars playing around below that when conditions permit.

What he said. Couldn’t have written it better myself.

 

[Californias Best]

You're right that the main difference in the DE and the GT lies in the 242hp bump. In fairness, though, that's a smaller premium to get that much more power (if it were even available) than you would pay in moving to an AMG, M Series, or RS version of competing German brands.

Also, the DE will come with more than just special badging (which I also agree is worthless). There will at least be a $650 charge cable thrown in. An interesting question is whether the Gravity DE will come with free periodic maintenance as did the Air DE. (I'm guessing not, but here's hoping.)

That aside, though, don't be too quick to discount the value to many drivers of that extra horsepower. Of course, there's no added torque offered, but even the GT torque is almost certainly beyond the traction limits of the tires, so there's no real advantage to having more. Nick Twork has already admitted that the DE's added power will only really be noticeable at higher speeds. But that's the point, at least for me.

I have driven Air GTs as loaners during a couple of stints while our Air Dream Performance was in the shop. No one could argue that the GT is underpowered by any sane standard. Nevertheless, the added power of the DE-P imparted a "friskiness" to the Air's throttle response from speed like nothing I have ever experienced in any other car -- and I have owned MB AMGs, a Corvette, and three Audi R8s (two of them V10s). Even our Tesla Model S Plaid did not have quite the high-end punch of the Air DE-P. So I, for one, view the $14,500 DE premium as worth every penny -- especially in a 6,000-pound car. I have no desire to drive 100 or even 90 miles per hour. But I have a lot of fun in cars playing around below that when conditions permit.

As an Air DE-P owner, I agree with this. There’s definitely a very very noticeable difference having the dream performance compared the GT. It was a no brainer for me to get the Gravity DE once I knew that was an option.