I’ve been reading lots of great posts on this forum, but this is my first post to introduce myself & share some comparison thoughts.
I placed my Air Grand Touring reservation deposit on Feb 21 and received the “ready to order” email on March 23. Within several days I did a test drive in the Tysons, VA location and just confirmed my order.
My AGT configuration is cosmos silver exterior, the dark Mohave interior and 21” wheels. I realize that the silver will probably add a couple/several months (“available Q3”) to the delivery time, but I prefer a single-color car (all silver / platinum) than two-tone (personal preference). I’ll probably order the 19” wheels later for the Virginia winters.
Over the last two decades my cars evolved from 400hp M5 to 500hp 911 turbo to 600hp AMG S65 to 700hp RennTech tuned AMG S65. The 800hp Grand Touring sounds like the next logical step.
I’m still on the wait-list for the Dream Edition, but realize there’s slim-to-no chance of getting one unless there are quite a few cancelations of the already sold orders. Maybe I’ll be able to get the high performance Gravity SUV when it launches since I’ll be an Air GT owner then.
The comparison posts from owners of Tesla Plaids & Porsche Taycans in this forum were very helpful in my decision to buy a Lucid. Maybe I can add some value by sharing my personal experiences with high performance Mercedes luxury sedans.
Both of bi-turbo V12 AMG S65 cars have been great luxury & sedan-class performance cars. I bought both of them 18-24 months old with 40K-45K miles when they had depreciated more than 50% off their $230K. I bought the Mercedes extended factory 7yr 100K mile warranty for $6K and then had essentially a quarter million dollar car with 5 more years of warranty for a little over $100K. Those hefty depreciations don’t exist any more. A major negative of this approach is the expensive maintenance: I just paid $9K to change brakes & rotors. Just changing spark plugs involves 24 plugs & related labor.
The top-of-the-line S-class vehicles really bring robust innovations to market early. My 2012 had radar-based auto cruise control, lane departure warning with haptic feedback, night vision, etc. My personal opinion is that the Mercedes luxury & creature comforts level (seats, sound system, etc.) is also ahead of the Lucid now. With the RennTech tune (chip, air box, exhaust, suspension, wheels, posi diff) the S65 feels just slightly slower than the AIr GT in Sprint mode. Two negatives with the S65 are the high center of gravity and the RWD-only drivetrain which can’t get all the power to the road, even with sticky 315’s on 11 inch rims & locking differential.
I considered buying an AMG S63 that’s a couple years old and getting the Renntech 842hp tune. The recent Mercedes hot 4.0L V8 is a better engine than the old 6.2L V12 (now discontinued), and the S63 has AWD. However, the depreciation isn’t what it used to be and the combined cost would be a lot more than a brand new Lucid Air GT.
I test drove an EQS 580 and it was substantially slower than my S65. It also appeared to have a software bug with unlocking the doors (sounds familiar). The AMG EQS 53 (and probable future EQS 63) should perform better, but I’m also not a fan of the body style nor the missing frunk (although I do like the hatchback aspect).
The redneck in me will miss the roar of the tuned V12 with custom air box & exhaust. However, the geek in me loving new tech won out, hence the Lucid Air GT.
Hopefully this post isn’t a “too long didn’t read” TL;DR post, but I’ve been giving this purchase a lot of thought. Hopefully some of my ramblings will be helpful to somebody.
I placed my Air Grand Touring reservation deposit on Feb 21 and received the “ready to order” email on March 23. Within several days I did a test drive in the Tysons, VA location and just confirmed my order.
My AGT configuration is cosmos silver exterior, the dark Mohave interior and 21” wheels. I realize that the silver will probably add a couple/several months (“available Q3”) to the delivery time, but I prefer a single-color car (all silver / platinum) than two-tone (personal preference). I’ll probably order the 19” wheels later for the Virginia winters.
Over the last two decades my cars evolved from 400hp M5 to 500hp 911 turbo to 600hp AMG S65 to 700hp RennTech tuned AMG S65. The 800hp Grand Touring sounds like the next logical step.
I’m still on the wait-list for the Dream Edition, but realize there’s slim-to-no chance of getting one unless there are quite a few cancelations of the already sold orders. Maybe I’ll be able to get the high performance Gravity SUV when it launches since I’ll be an Air GT owner then.
The comparison posts from owners of Tesla Plaids & Porsche Taycans in this forum were very helpful in my decision to buy a Lucid. Maybe I can add some value by sharing my personal experiences with high performance Mercedes luxury sedans.
Both of bi-turbo V12 AMG S65 cars have been great luxury & sedan-class performance cars. I bought both of them 18-24 months old with 40K-45K miles when they had depreciated more than 50% off their $230K. I bought the Mercedes extended factory 7yr 100K mile warranty for $6K and then had essentially a quarter million dollar car with 5 more years of warranty for a little over $100K. Those hefty depreciations don’t exist any more. A major negative of this approach is the expensive maintenance: I just paid $9K to change brakes & rotors. Just changing spark plugs involves 24 plugs & related labor.
The top-of-the-line S-class vehicles really bring robust innovations to market early. My 2012 had radar-based auto cruise control, lane departure warning with haptic feedback, night vision, etc. My personal opinion is that the Mercedes luxury & creature comforts level (seats, sound system, etc.) is also ahead of the Lucid now. With the RennTech tune (chip, air box, exhaust, suspension, wheels, posi diff) the S65 feels just slightly slower than the AIr GT in Sprint mode. Two negatives with the S65 are the high center of gravity and the RWD-only drivetrain which can’t get all the power to the road, even with sticky 315’s on 11 inch rims & locking differential.
I considered buying an AMG S63 that’s a couple years old and getting the Renntech 842hp tune. The recent Mercedes hot 4.0L V8 is a better engine than the old 6.2L V12 (now discontinued), and the S63 has AWD. However, the depreciation isn’t what it used to be and the combined cost would be a lot more than a brand new Lucid Air GT.
I test drove an EQS 580 and it was substantially slower than my S65. It also appeared to have a software bug with unlocking the doors (sounds familiar). The AMG EQS 53 (and probable future EQS 63) should perform better, but I’m also not a fan of the body style nor the missing frunk (although I do like the hatchback aspect).
The redneck in me will miss the roar of the tuned V12 with custom air box & exhaust. However, the geek in me loving new tech won out, hence the Lucid Air GT.
Hopefully this post isn’t a “too long didn’t read” TL;DR post, but I’ve been giving this purchase a lot of thought. Hopefully some of my ramblings will be helpful to somebody.
