2022 Lucid Air electric luxury sedan may be best car in the world by middle of next year
Detroit auto writer says he’s convinced the Air is like the iPhone — one of those rare products that won’t just succeed: It will change its industry,
Luxury electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid Motors is exploring opening a showroom for its cars in Plano.
By Mark Phelan
10:30 AM on Jan 1, 2022 CST
NEWARK, California — By the middle of 2022, the Lucid Air electric luxury sedan may be the best car in the world.
After a day driving the new EV and another touring Lucid’s Silicon Valley HQ/tech center, I’m convinced the fast, elegant and advanced Air is, like the iPhone, one of those rare products that won’t just succeed: It will change its industry, inspiring customers to demand more, forcing companies to do better.
Also like the original iPhone, which inspired jokes that it could do everything but make a phone call, the Lucid Air didn’t roll out of the factory perfect on Day 1.
I can’t dismiss the Lucid EV’s early-production software glitches. An automaker’s Prime Directive is to produce vehicles that open their doors and drive off on the first attempt, just as a telephone that struggles with audio calls is flawed, no matter how marvelous its other capacities.
But five years from now, nobody will remember the glitchy door handles I experienced in early-production vehicles.
In five years, countless buyers will expect — and other automakers better hope to have matched — things the Lucid Air does brilliantly today.
Relentless innovation
At a time when many automakers were buying off-the-shelf components to develop EVs, Lucid, a startup based in Silicon Valley, didn’t hesitate to rethink not just what an electric car can do, but basic automotive functions.
A few of its innovative functions:
-EPA-rated maximum range of 516 miles on a charge in the long-range model.
-Headlights that peer around corners and shift focus without a single moving part.
-The ability to get a 300-mile charge in 20 minutes.
-0-to-60 mph acceleration in 2.41 seconds for the 1,111-horsepower performance model, which can still go 451 miles on a charge.
-The most aerodynamic body of any current production vehicle: 0.20 cD, or coefficient of drag. Lower is better, of course.
-Batteries and motors that weigh less but produce more power so the Air can go farther and faster than the competition.
The Lucid Air makes EVs from the world’s leading automakers and Tesla, 500-pound gorilla of the EV industry, seem a bit amateurish.
“Where is the value if you buy everything” from outside suppliers, Lucid CEO and chief technical officer Peter Rawlinson asked over lunch.
“You’ve got to develop your own EV technology. You can’t buy this tech. Nobody’s ever done it before.
“Innovate and use that to drive greater efficiency. Every kilo you save gets you about 100 meters (more) range.”