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Wait until they tell officially what the technical specifications actually are. It'll be a fair bit more than "1200hp+" to beat a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport like that.
So yes, crazy indeed.
Lucid "Introducing Lucid Air Sapphire: The Pinnacle of Electric Performance."
- Thread starter Tourbillon
- Start date
Lucid is a luxury EV maker founded in 2007. Majority-owned by the Saudi PIF, it builds the ultra-efficient Air sedan and Gravity SUV. Official: Lucid
Wait until they tell officially what the technical specifications actually are. It'll be a fair bit more than "1200hp+" to beat a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport like that.
So yes, crazy indeed.
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Lucid Produced 3,493 Vehicles in Q4 2022 and 7,180 in the Full Year 2022, Exceeding Annual Guidance.
"January 12, 2023
3,493 Vehicles Produced in Q4, up 53 Percent Sequentially
7,180 Vehicles Produced in 2022, Exceeding Guidance of 6,000-7,000 Vehicles
Set to Report Fourth Quarter Financial Results on Wednesday, February 22, 2023."
Not bad.
"January 12, 2023
3,493 Vehicles Produced in Q4, up 53 Percent Sequentially
7,180 Vehicles Produced in 2022, Exceeding Guidance of 6,000-7,000 Vehicles
Set to Report Fourth Quarter Financial Results on Wednesday, February 22, 2023."
Not bad.
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Lucid Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2022 Financial Results, Exceeds Annual Production Guidance With 3,493 Vehicles in Q4 and 7,180 in the Full Year 2022
February 22, 2023
"Lucid today also announced its 2023 annual production guidance of 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles.
Lucid reported fourth quarter revenue of $257.7 million and annual revenue of $608.2 million, ending the quarter with approximately $4.9 billion total liquidity, which is expected to fund the Company at least into the first quarter of 2024. The Company reported reservations of over 28,000, as of February 21, 2023, representing potential sales of over $2.7 billion. This reservation number does not include the up to 100,000 vehicles under the agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia."
February 22, 2023
"Lucid today also announced its 2023 annual production guidance of 10,000 to 14,000 vehicles.
Lucid reported fourth quarter revenue of $257.7 million and annual revenue of $608.2 million, ending the quarter with approximately $4.9 billion total liquidity, which is expected to fund the Company at least into the first quarter of 2024. The Company reported reservations of over 28,000, as of February 21, 2023, representing potential sales of over $2.7 billion. This reservation number does not include the up to 100,000 vehicles under the agreement with the government of Saudi Arabia."
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Laguna Seca Raceway September 2018 1.41:67
Laguna Seca Raceway September 2020 1.31:30
They improved the SAME I believe one of the ALPHA Fleet pre production prototype times by over 10 seconds!
And the kicker is they absolutely production power train specification Lucid Air's but not to my knowledge the triple motor Lucid Air Sapphire's which have also been testing but no official timings released. They've been testing these cars at US racetracks for atleast 5 years and before. These machines are not just straight line monsters or low speed limousines! I'm struggling to think of anything like it with charging times and range and interior to exterior footprint etc.
She's going to push the Pininfarina Battista real hard. When you consider the difference in power to weigh that's incredibly impressive. And racetracks too! Although powre and torque figures have not been released
McLaren P1 | Randy Pobst | 1:30.71 |
^Fastestlaps. The Mclaren 720S/765LT are 1/ 1 second plus above.
Nothing really else to say except power and torque calcultions from 6 months ago~
"So 1341X 7% electric drive losses= 1435hp X22% (formula elsewhere) for NM torque bases on the dual electric motors 1750NM, calculated at LUNCHTIME so they may be rushed. LOL! But I'm around there."
1435hp/1750NM.
(Edit: 100-200MPH= will be 9.75-11 seconds.)
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"Lucid Announces Q1 Production & Deliveries, Sets Date for First Quarter 2023 Results
April 13, 2023
NEWARK, Calif., April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID), setting new standards for luxury electric experience with the Lucid Air, winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car Award, today announced production and delivery totals for the quarter ended March 31, 2023. The company produced 2,314 vehicles during Q1 at its manufacturing facility in Arizona and delivered 1,406 vehicles during the same period.*"
Continues in the link.
Still awaiting Lucid Air Sapphire technical specifications or specifically numbers! Won't be long now!
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2024 Lucid Air Sapphire Driven: Your Everyday 1,200+HP, 1.9-Second Supersedan!
We slide behind the wheel of a tri-motor electric monster.
Jethro Bovingdon Writer Jofel Tolosa Photographer
Mar 23, 2023
www.motortrend.com
There's no question that've we've become desensitized to performance. Barely a week goes by when the MotorTrend test team doesn't record a sub-3.5-second run to 60 mph or a quarter mile in the 10s. Another new supercar with 1,000 horsepower? Of course, it's a Tuesday. Maybe it'll be 1,100 hp tomorrow. Even so, I'm a little taken aback by the numbers being talked about as we circle around a deliciously rough and ratty prototype of the forthcoming Lucid Air Sapphire in the pit lane at Willow Springs. "North of 1,200 horsepower." Okay. Understood. "Zero to 60 mph in 1.89 seconds." I ask for that one to be repeated. "Zero to 100 mph in under four seconds." It's at this point my brain hits the buffers. The next thing I know I'm in the driver's seat and the Sapphire is pointed at Turn 1.
You'll need $249,000 to experience Lucid's new tri-motor monster but the company assures me the entry price buys a lot more than just a party trick. Even if 0-100 mph in three-point-something seconds and the quarter in less than nine seconds is a hell of a party trick. This is the Lucid Air, I suspect, the chassis engineers have wanted to build for some time. It is still "very much a road car," according to director of chassis and vehicle dynamics David Lickfold, "but it's much more focused and we sacrifice some range for a more aggressive chassis setup. It shows the latent potential."
That means more tire, more damping, a lower ride height and stiffer springs, a wider stance (0.5 inch wider front flares, 0.9 inch rears), and considerably bigger 16.5-inch brake rotors from Akebono. These are carbon-ceramic, naturally, and gripped by 10-piston calipers. Plus, there are some new aero tweaks to reduce lift and create a bit of positive downforce. All the good stuff you might expect of a supersedan. However, there are now two electric motors on the rear axle, each with its own inverter and integrated transmission and differential, opening the tuning and torque-vectoring options like a treasure trove. "It's a fantastic tool," confides Lickfold, "but it's incredibly complex to get right, and tracing a handling issue we don't like, for example, becomes a minefield. Is it mechanical, a torque-vectoring misstep? The work we've put into this car is hard to calculate. Basically, we've had to start again."
Imagine the options when you can directly control each wheel—slowing the inside rear wheel to rotate the car and accelerating the outside wheel to make the most of the newfound agility. Changing that strategy at high speeds to give huge confidence and stability. We've seen differentials that can send more power to outside wheels and electronics that can brake inside wheels, but no mechanical torque vectoring system gives the true freedom that a motor per wheel can provide. Layer this capability on top of the Air Grand Touring, already an impressive and mind-scramblingly fast car, and the potential is mouth-watering.
The Lucid team is shooting for the stars. The physical manifestation of the scale of their ambition sits in the pit lane just 20 or 30 yards away. Gleaming in the sunshine sits a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. A long-standing benchmark and a hollering, bellowing, and deeply lovable anti-EV. It's not alone. Parked alongside the Blackwing is, perhaps, the ultimate fast sedan from BMW. The mighty M5 CS has poise, balance, grip, and responses of the highest order. I love that it's here and that Lucid isn't ashamed to admit just how good this car is. Working in a silo is pointless and having an M5 CS hanging around means there's nowhere to hide. No way to kid yourself that you've cracked it. To even start to approach that car's goodness, the Air Sapphire is going to need all that torque-vectoring magic to contain and direct its claimed 5,269 pounds …
Lucid grant me a few laps in a Grand Touring model as a refresher course, and it's enlightening. This dual-motor car (one per axle) produces 1,050 hp and is astonishingly fast. It's a little lighter but still a heavy machine, yet all 5,236 pounds disappear when you crack the accelerator. EVs with this level of power don't 'hit' different, it's more like they shove your whole body against the seat back and then squeeze and mold you into it. A sumo takedown instead of a knockout punch.
But, boy, does that weight reassert itself when you come to brake or change direction! The Grand Touring has a trustworthy balance and can be steered beautifully on power, but the simple truth is the braking performance and lateral grip don't come close to matching the sheer straight line acceleration. So instead of unleashing this car's performance you're mostly managing the mass, reining in the car, and, honestly, actively avoiding using a great deal of the available power. This is a luxury GT with a lot of performance, not a supersedan in the image of an M5, Blackwing, or AMG. On the road it's supple, quiet, and immensely fast. A racetrack is well beyond its comfort zone.
The prototype Sapphire has racing seats, harnesses, and a roll cage, which give it a bit of an unfair advantage. The vibe is exciting. Intimidating, even. The seating position is lower, too. The production version will use similar seats to the Grand Touring with added side bolstering, and so won't immediately exude the added focus of this car. Don't worry, though. The different character of the Sapphire pours through every fiber of its being. Before I leave the pit lane I know this tri-motor car is a different animal. There's more texture through the steering (production models will have an Alcantara-lined rim), the ride is so much stiffer and flatter, and the car responds to inputs like it weighs hundreds of pounds less than it does. It might be an illusion—but that doesn't matter. The Sapphire feels keen and energized and ready to attack a lap.
And that's what it does. Where the GT required patience, the Sapphire encourages aggression, in places where the standard car would slip inexorably into understeer the Sapphire uses powerful torque vectoring to remain neutral. The transformation from GT to Sapphire might not involve too much more power (believe me, it's plenty), but the chassis changes are as substantial as a rental-spec six-cylinder Mustang to a GT350R. Night and day. For me, or anyone who really enjoys agility, response, and a car that works hard to obey driver inputs, the Sapphire is so much more exciting. I'm sure the ride will take a hit on the road and interior noise levels will jump, too, but out on Big Willow any sacrifice to refinement is paid back with interest.''
Some of this improvement is simply down to hardware. New and bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires utilize a near Cup-spec compound on the outer half of the tread for strong lateral performance, but the more standard inner section retains efficient rolling resistance. The sizes are much bigger but still fairly modest considering the power outputs. The rears measure 295/30ZR-21—a shade wider than the M5 CS's, but consider that the BMW has half the power and 1,000 fewer pounds to turn, plus it runs more aggressive R-rated Pirelli P Zero Corsas. Even so, the leap in pure mechanical grip is substantial and aided by much stiffer spring rates and adaptive Bilsteins that have been completely re-tuned. As before there are three drive modes, but here they ramp up through Smooth and Swift before hitting the new ultimate Sapphire mode, which replaces Sprint.
So what of the vaunted torque-vectoring? John Culliton, senior technical specialist for chassis and vehicle dynamics, explained earlier that it wasn't intended to be intrusive or overly contrived. "We've been tuning the chassis and the algorithms to give what is almost a three-meter-wheelbase car really good agility and balance at low speed, but a big priority has also been high-speed stability," he said. "But we wanted it to be seamless. If you design a system with the only goal is that it follows your steering input, then it can feel twitchy and darty and then it fights your corrections. You're sort of dancing around out of sync. This is meant to be the opposite of that—totally intuitive." At this point Lickfold interjects: "We've tried the car with torque-vectoring turned off and then engaged back-to-back at Thunderhill and the car essentially behaves in the same way, but it suddenly feels like you've put on R-compound tires. Everything just elevates."
On Big Willow you can feel the system. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's going on but the rear axle feels like it's manipulating the balance at times. Lift through the fast final turns and the car takes on a little oversteer-y attitude, as you'd expect. Then as you apply power, it seems to hold the car in this perfect state as if by magic. It's slightly spooky but very effective. Similarly, should you apply power before an apex, the front tires will push wide just for a moment before the outside rear wheel drives hard to pin them to the clipping point. I like the end result, but with just a few laps to acclimate, it does feel like the car is reacting counter to your expectations on occasion.
There are other areas to polish. The transition between regen and the highly-effective friction brakes needs some work and the pedal can feel slightly lumpy at times as it juggles the two systems. Over the fast hump of Turn 6 the rear unloads uncomfortably and the car takes time to settle. And then there's the simple fact that pushing 1,200-plus-hp through any chassis can overwhelm grip very quickly if you remove the traction control system altogether. The Sport setting is well-judged and best left on. Lucid also uses the electric motors to trim wheel slip, which they say is faster and less jarring than brake interventions. It certainly seems that way and is a tactic also adopted by Mercedes on its new C63 AMG and GT63 S E Performance.
In short, the Sapphire is shaping up to be a very trick and phenomenally fast supersedan. The torque-vectoring is fascinating and I'm sure will be iterated on many times in coming years to unlock ever greater agility. It already makes a huge, heavy car do things that seem to defy the laws of physics. The straight-line performance? It's crazy and very possibly will beat the Tesla Model S Plaid on its way to more than 200 mph. I could hardly care less about that. But if the final tweaks make the Sapphire more enjoyable than an M5 CS as an all-round proposition, then it will be truly remarkable. Lucid isn't there yet but it's chipping away and loving every second of the process. I salute its commitment."
We slide behind the wheel of a tri-motor electric monster.
Jethro Bovingdon Writer Jofel Tolosa Photographer
Mar 23, 2023
2024 Lucid Air Sapphire Driven: 1,200+HP, 1.9 Seconds, $249K!
Lucid's Air Sapphire is a tri-motor electric monster with not just the Plaid in its sights, but the sensational BMW M5 CS, too.
There's no question that've we've become desensitized to performance. Barely a week goes by when the MotorTrend test team doesn't record a sub-3.5-second run to 60 mph or a quarter mile in the 10s. Another new supercar with 1,000 horsepower? Of course, it's a Tuesday. Maybe it'll be 1,100 hp tomorrow. Even so, I'm a little taken aback by the numbers being talked about as we circle around a deliciously rough and ratty prototype of the forthcoming Lucid Air Sapphire in the pit lane at Willow Springs. "North of 1,200 horsepower." Okay. Understood. "Zero to 60 mph in 1.89 seconds." I ask for that one to be repeated. "Zero to 100 mph in under four seconds." It's at this point my brain hits the buffers. The next thing I know I'm in the driver's seat and the Sapphire is pointed at Turn 1.
You'll need $249,000 to experience Lucid's new tri-motor monster but the company assures me the entry price buys a lot more than just a party trick. Even if 0-100 mph in three-point-something seconds and the quarter in less than nine seconds is a hell of a party trick. This is the Lucid Air, I suspect, the chassis engineers have wanted to build for some time. It is still "very much a road car," according to director of chassis and vehicle dynamics David Lickfold, "but it's much more focused and we sacrifice some range for a more aggressive chassis setup. It shows the latent potential."
That means more tire, more damping, a lower ride height and stiffer springs, a wider stance (0.5 inch wider front flares, 0.9 inch rears), and considerably bigger 16.5-inch brake rotors from Akebono. These are carbon-ceramic, naturally, and gripped by 10-piston calipers. Plus, there are some new aero tweaks to reduce lift and create a bit of positive downforce. All the good stuff you might expect of a supersedan. However, there are now two electric motors on the rear axle, each with its own inverter and integrated transmission and differential, opening the tuning and torque-vectoring options like a treasure trove. "It's a fantastic tool," confides Lickfold, "but it's incredibly complex to get right, and tracing a handling issue we don't like, for example, becomes a minefield. Is it mechanical, a torque-vectoring misstep? The work we've put into this car is hard to calculate. Basically, we've had to start again."
Imagine the options when you can directly control each wheel—slowing the inside rear wheel to rotate the car and accelerating the outside wheel to make the most of the newfound agility. Changing that strategy at high speeds to give huge confidence and stability. We've seen differentials that can send more power to outside wheels and electronics that can brake inside wheels, but no mechanical torque vectoring system gives the true freedom that a motor per wheel can provide. Layer this capability on top of the Air Grand Touring, already an impressive and mind-scramblingly fast car, and the potential is mouth-watering.
The Lucid team is shooting for the stars. The physical manifestation of the scale of their ambition sits in the pit lane just 20 or 30 yards away. Gleaming in the sunshine sits a Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing. A long-standing benchmark and a hollering, bellowing, and deeply lovable anti-EV. It's not alone. Parked alongside the Blackwing is, perhaps, the ultimate fast sedan from BMW. The mighty M5 CS has poise, balance, grip, and responses of the highest order. I love that it's here and that Lucid isn't ashamed to admit just how good this car is. Working in a silo is pointless and having an M5 CS hanging around means there's nowhere to hide. No way to kid yourself that you've cracked it. To even start to approach that car's goodness, the Air Sapphire is going to need all that torque-vectoring magic to contain and direct its claimed 5,269 pounds …
Lucid grant me a few laps in a Grand Touring model as a refresher course, and it's enlightening. This dual-motor car (one per axle) produces 1,050 hp and is astonishingly fast. It's a little lighter but still a heavy machine, yet all 5,236 pounds disappear when you crack the accelerator. EVs with this level of power don't 'hit' different, it's more like they shove your whole body against the seat back and then squeeze and mold you into it. A sumo takedown instead of a knockout punch.
But, boy, does that weight reassert itself when you come to brake or change direction! The Grand Touring has a trustworthy balance and can be steered beautifully on power, but the simple truth is the braking performance and lateral grip don't come close to matching the sheer straight line acceleration. So instead of unleashing this car's performance you're mostly managing the mass, reining in the car, and, honestly, actively avoiding using a great deal of the available power. This is a luxury GT with a lot of performance, not a supersedan in the image of an M5, Blackwing, or AMG. On the road it's supple, quiet, and immensely fast. A racetrack is well beyond its comfort zone.
The prototype Sapphire has racing seats, harnesses, and a roll cage, which give it a bit of an unfair advantage. The vibe is exciting. Intimidating, even. The seating position is lower, too. The production version will use similar seats to the Grand Touring with added side bolstering, and so won't immediately exude the added focus of this car. Don't worry, though. The different character of the Sapphire pours through every fiber of its being. Before I leave the pit lane I know this tri-motor car is a different animal. There's more texture through the steering (production models will have an Alcantara-lined rim), the ride is so much stiffer and flatter, and the car responds to inputs like it weighs hundreds of pounds less than it does. It might be an illusion—but that doesn't matter. The Sapphire feels keen and energized and ready to attack a lap.
And that's what it does. Where the GT required patience, the Sapphire encourages aggression, in places where the standard car would slip inexorably into understeer the Sapphire uses powerful torque vectoring to remain neutral. The transformation from GT to Sapphire might not involve too much more power (believe me, it's plenty), but the chassis changes are as substantial as a rental-spec six-cylinder Mustang to a GT350R. Night and day. For me, or anyone who really enjoys agility, response, and a car that works hard to obey driver inputs, the Sapphire is so much more exciting. I'm sure the ride will take a hit on the road and interior noise levels will jump, too, but out on Big Willow any sacrifice to refinement is paid back with interest.''
Some of this improvement is simply down to hardware. New and bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires utilize a near Cup-spec compound on the outer half of the tread for strong lateral performance, but the more standard inner section retains efficient rolling resistance. The sizes are much bigger but still fairly modest considering the power outputs. The rears measure 295/30ZR-21—a shade wider than the M5 CS's, but consider that the BMW has half the power and 1,000 fewer pounds to turn, plus it runs more aggressive R-rated Pirelli P Zero Corsas. Even so, the leap in pure mechanical grip is substantial and aided by much stiffer spring rates and adaptive Bilsteins that have been completely re-tuned. As before there are three drive modes, but here they ramp up through Smooth and Swift before hitting the new ultimate Sapphire mode, which replaces Sprint.
So what of the vaunted torque-vectoring? John Culliton, senior technical specialist for chassis and vehicle dynamics, explained earlier that it wasn't intended to be intrusive or overly contrived. "We've been tuning the chassis and the algorithms to give what is almost a three-meter-wheelbase car really good agility and balance at low speed, but a big priority has also been high-speed stability," he said. "But we wanted it to be seamless. If you design a system with the only goal is that it follows your steering input, then it can feel twitchy and darty and then it fights your corrections. You're sort of dancing around out of sync. This is meant to be the opposite of that—totally intuitive." At this point Lickfold interjects: "We've tried the car with torque-vectoring turned off and then engaged back-to-back at Thunderhill and the car essentially behaves in the same way, but it suddenly feels like you've put on R-compound tires. Everything just elevates."
On Big Willow you can feel the system. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what's going on but the rear axle feels like it's manipulating the balance at times. Lift through the fast final turns and the car takes on a little oversteer-y attitude, as you'd expect. Then as you apply power, it seems to hold the car in this perfect state as if by magic. It's slightly spooky but very effective. Similarly, should you apply power before an apex, the front tires will push wide just for a moment before the outside rear wheel drives hard to pin them to the clipping point. I like the end result, but with just a few laps to acclimate, it does feel like the car is reacting counter to your expectations on occasion.
There are other areas to polish. The transition between regen and the highly-effective friction brakes needs some work and the pedal can feel slightly lumpy at times as it juggles the two systems. Over the fast hump of Turn 6 the rear unloads uncomfortably and the car takes time to settle. And then there's the simple fact that pushing 1,200-plus-hp through any chassis can overwhelm grip very quickly if you remove the traction control system altogether. The Sport setting is well-judged and best left on. Lucid also uses the electric motors to trim wheel slip, which they say is faster and less jarring than brake interventions. It certainly seems that way and is a tactic also adopted by Mercedes on its new C63 AMG and GT63 S E Performance.
In short, the Sapphire is shaping up to be a very trick and phenomenally fast supersedan. The torque-vectoring is fascinating and I'm sure will be iterated on many times in coming years to unlock ever greater agility. It already makes a huge, heavy car do things that seem to defy the laws of physics. The straight-line performance? It's crazy and very possibly will beat the Tesla Model S Plaid on its way to more than 200 mph. I could hardly care less about that. But if the final tweaks make the Sapphire more enjoyable than an M5 CS as an all-round proposition, then it will be truly remarkable. Lucid isn't there yet but it's chipping away and loving every second of the process. I salute its commitment."
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This Lucid Air Sapphire looks really impressive, but the price of $249K is really huge. We know when there will be reviews? I can't wait to see what the car Can do.
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She's in pre production prototype format destroyed everything. Lucid are claiming verified numbers for 0-60 and 0-100MPH under 2 and 4 seconds respectively.
Reviews of production specifications delivered to customers the boss said Q3 to Q4.
As for price a four door family EV luxury saloon blowing the doors off multi milion dollar hypercars?
Non mon ami taking into account track performances in twin motor guise, she's a triple electric motor car remember, she's the bargain of the decade!
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I understand your point of view, but I wouldn't call a $249K car a "bargain" even if it looks incredibly fast and luxurious.
She's in pre production prototype format destroyed everything. Lucid are claiming verified numbers for 0-60 and 0-100MPH under 2 and 4 seconds respectively.
Reviews of production specifications delivered to customers the boss said Q3 to Q4.
As for price a four door family EV luxury saloon blowing the doors off multi milion dollar hypercars?
Non mon ami taking into account track performances in twin motor guise, she's a triple electric motor car remember, she's the bargain of the decade!
Of course it depends on the taste and feeling of each one, for 249K I prefer to take a S 63 E-Performance full spec or a RS7 or other crazy Hybrid/V8 sedan.
I don't deny the Ev's and their performance, I did some kilometers in a Tesla Model S Plaid a few weeks ago and it was really impressive but the problem and always the same (for me) with the EV's is the cruel lack of vibrations and "life" that a combustion engine provides.
But the EV's are going to get more and more interesting as time goes on and I can't wait to see what it will be.
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Btw, did you try the Taycan? I will normaly try the Turbo S (Stupid name for a EV) soon and im curious about it.
She's in pre production prototype format destroyed everything. Lucid are claiming verified numbers for 0-60 and 0-100MPH under 2 and 4 seconds respectively.
Reviews of production specifications delivered to customers the boss said Q3 to Q4.
As for price a four door family EV luxury saloon blowing the doors off multi milion dollar hypercars?
Non mon ami taking into account track performances in twin motor guise, she's a triple electric motor car remember, she's the bargain of the decade!
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There you have it, straight from the horse's mouth so to speak. Obviously their aware of Rimac now.
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Time to return to this absolute monster. I keep telling people it'll get so close to production hypercars it'll be difficult not to call it one itself!
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Knives Out For Plaid: 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire Prototype Tested!
The Sapphire mule is the quickest vehicle we’ve ever tested in the quarter-mile.
Jul 11, 2023
"Pros
Quickest car MotorTrend has ever tested
The ride's over real fast
Not a Spaceballs joke in sight
Cons
Actual production version might be slower
Priced like a Lamborghini
Can induce nausea in passengers
Unless you've been living under an automotive rock for a couple of years, you know the Tesla Model S Plaid is the quickest-accelerating production car we've ever tested. Er, I mean was. Sort of. Meet the new (kinda) king of the quarter mile, the pre-production Lucid Air Sapphire, the upcoming high-performance version of our 2022 Car of the Year.
Yeah, the Sapphire hasn't launched quite yet, but the fine folks at California's Lucid Motors were kind enough to let us horse around with (and test) the upcoming tip of its performance subbrand spear, the Air Sapphire. Is this prototype's performance going to be on par with the eventual three-motor, super-duper electric production sedan we think will cost $250,000? Cannot say with any degree of certainty.
We can assume the pre-pro Sapphire is pretty dang close to what the real deal is going to deliver. However, yes, that means there's a chance the production Sapphire will be quicker still.
What It’s Up Against
How quick? Before we get to what the new Lucid did, let's look back at some other hella-quick machines we've tested. (If you just want to know how quick the Sapphire is, skip ahead.) In a four-way tie for seventh place, we have the following 10.0-second monsters, in alphabetical order: 2010 Ducati 1198 S (hey, why not toss in a bike?), 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance, 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight, and finally the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder. We should probably give honorable mentions to the 2018 McLaren 720S and 2019 McLaren Senna, both of which shot over 1,320 feet in 10.1 seconds.
From here on out, we're looking at street cars running in the nines. Which, let's be honest, is ridiculous. First up, the 2014 McLaren P1, which converted 904 hp and 664 lb-ft of hybrid torque into a 9.8-second quarter-mile blast with a trap speed of 148.9 miles per hour. That is cooking with gas. And batteries. Credit the P1's low curb weight—just 3,411 pounds—with that big-boy trap speed. Speaking of hybrids, the 2022 Ferrari SF90 Spyder ties the P1 with a 9.8-second run at 146.0 mph. Technically, the P1 is quicker; diving into the data, we see 9.75 seconds for the McLaren—we round up—and 9.79 for the convertible SF90, and the Macca has the higher trap speed.
Next car up arrives with an asterisk because why would Ferrari make anything easy? Like the 918 and P1, the third member of the "Holy Trinity"—the 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari—is a hybrid hypercar. One that weighs in at 3,495 pounds and hurls out 950 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. We recorded a 9.7-second quarter-mile blast at 148.5 mph. Why the asterisk? Because Ferrari only let us test the LaFerrari pointing downhill. No, really. On flat ground, the LaFerrari and the P1 would most likely tie. Or the P1 clips it by a 10th. We think.
Next up is another Ferrari, the 2021 SF90 Asseto Fiorano. Making 986 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque and weighing 3,839 pounds (which is impressive considering the SF90 has three electric motors), this range-topping Fezza ripped off a 9.6-second quarter mile with a 145.2 mph trap speed. One notable fact about the SF90 Asseto Fiorino is it ties the Tesla Model S Plaid to 60 mph, needing just 2.1 seconds. Interestingly, the next quickest production car to 60 mph is the Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight, which needs only 2.2 seconds. What a world.
Did somebody say Tesla? It's time to talk Plaid. Three motors, 1,020 hp, 1,050 lb-ft of torque, and 4,816 pounds of electric fun, Musk's fever dream does the quarter mile in 9.3 seconds at a gargantuan 152.2 mph. That's the quickest we've ever tested. Until now. The Plaid moves a bit quicker on a prepped surface, hitting 60 mph in 1.98 seconds and running the quarter in the same 9.3 seconds (9.25 versus 9.34) with an ever so slightly higher trap speed of 152.6 mph.
A New MotorTrend Record
The Lucid Air Sapphire test mule beats the Plaid, popping off a gut-punching 9.2-second quarter mile with a massive 157.1-mph trap speed. What's interesting is the Lucid trails the Plaid to 60 mph by a tenth, 2.2 seconds versus 2.1. That means the Sapphire lights the afterburners once underway. The Lucid's horsepower advantage can be seen in the trap speed, where the Sapphire is going 4.9 mph faster than the Plaid—and rising. One of the fun things about getting numbers on a runway is we ran the half mile with the Sapphire, which it did in 14.4 seconds at 187.3 mph. Madness. Utter madness.
Lucid promises the Sapphire will be capable of an 8-second quarter mile on a prepped surface. Considering the Tesla Plaid picked up less than a 10th of a second going from concrete to VHT (and knowing that at least one former Plaid engineer developed the Sapphire), we believe the actual production Sapphire will be even quicker than the mule we tested. Gulp. That truly does boggle the mind, as the 9.2-second blast feels like jumping out of an airplane sideways. Obviously, we'll test the real deal as soon as we're able to. Maybe even on a dragstrip.
So how much horsepower does the Sapphire make? Lucid is still refusing to say. We know each of the Air Sapphire's three motors is individually capable of producing 670 hp and that in the Dream Edition, two of those motors put out a combined 1,111 hp. Three set up like that could and would pump out 1,667 hp. But if the motors are putting out Air Grand Touring Performance numbers (1,050 hp equally split among two motors), then that would mean 1,575 hp.
For its part, all Lucid is saying is "more than 1,200 hp." We think anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 hp is a safe bet. We will know after the production Sapphire's reveal later this summer. The Tesla Plaid remains the king of the quarter. For now.
www.motortrend.com
The Sapphire mule is the quickest vehicle we’ve ever tested in the quarter-mile.
Jul 11, 2023
"Pros
Quickest car MotorTrend has ever tested
The ride's over real fast
Not a Spaceballs joke in sight
Cons
Actual production version might be slower
Priced like a Lamborghini
Can induce nausea in passengers
Unless you've been living under an automotive rock for a couple of years, you know the Tesla Model S Plaid is the quickest-accelerating production car we've ever tested. Er, I mean was. Sort of. Meet the new (kinda) king of the quarter mile, the pre-production Lucid Air Sapphire, the upcoming high-performance version of our 2022 Car of the Year.
Yeah, the Sapphire hasn't launched quite yet, but the fine folks at California's Lucid Motors were kind enough to let us horse around with (and test) the upcoming tip of its performance subbrand spear, the Air Sapphire. Is this prototype's performance going to be on par with the eventual three-motor, super-duper electric production sedan we think will cost $250,000? Cannot say with any degree of certainty.
We can assume the pre-pro Sapphire is pretty dang close to what the real deal is going to deliver. However, yes, that means there's a chance the production Sapphire will be quicker still.
What It’s Up Against
How quick? Before we get to what the new Lucid did, let's look back at some other hella-quick machines we've tested. (If you just want to know how quick the Sapphire is, skip ahead.) In a four-way tie for seventh place, we have the following 10.0-second monsters, in alphabetical order: 2010 Ducati 1198 S (hey, why not toss in a bike?), 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance, 2021 Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight, and finally the 2015 Porsche 918 Spyder. We should probably give honorable mentions to the 2018 McLaren 720S and 2019 McLaren Senna, both of which shot over 1,320 feet in 10.1 seconds.
From here on out, we're looking at street cars running in the nines. Which, let's be honest, is ridiculous. First up, the 2014 McLaren P1, which converted 904 hp and 664 lb-ft of hybrid torque into a 9.8-second quarter-mile blast with a trap speed of 148.9 miles per hour. That is cooking with gas. And batteries. Credit the P1's low curb weight—just 3,411 pounds—with that big-boy trap speed. Speaking of hybrids, the 2022 Ferrari SF90 Spyder ties the P1 with a 9.8-second run at 146.0 mph. Technically, the P1 is quicker; diving into the data, we see 9.75 seconds for the McLaren—we round up—and 9.79 for the convertible SF90, and the Macca has the higher trap speed.
Next car up arrives with an asterisk because why would Ferrari make anything easy? Like the 918 and P1, the third member of the "Holy Trinity"—the 2015 Ferrari LaFerrari—is a hybrid hypercar. One that weighs in at 3,495 pounds and hurls out 950 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. We recorded a 9.7-second quarter-mile blast at 148.5 mph. Why the asterisk? Because Ferrari only let us test the LaFerrari pointing downhill. No, really. On flat ground, the LaFerrari and the P1 would most likely tie. Or the P1 clips it by a 10th. We think.
Next up is another Ferrari, the 2021 SF90 Asseto Fiorano. Making 986 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque and weighing 3,839 pounds (which is impressive considering the SF90 has three electric motors), this range-topping Fezza ripped off a 9.6-second quarter mile with a 145.2 mph trap speed. One notable fact about the SF90 Asseto Fiorino is it ties the Tesla Model S Plaid to 60 mph, needing just 2.1 seconds. Interestingly, the next quickest production car to 60 mph is the Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight, which needs only 2.2 seconds. What a world.
Did somebody say Tesla? It's time to talk Plaid. Three motors, 1,020 hp, 1,050 lb-ft of torque, and 4,816 pounds of electric fun, Musk's fever dream does the quarter mile in 9.3 seconds at a gargantuan 152.2 mph. That's the quickest we've ever tested. Until now. The Plaid moves a bit quicker on a prepped surface, hitting 60 mph in 1.98 seconds and running the quarter in the same 9.3 seconds (9.25 versus 9.34) with an ever so slightly higher trap speed of 152.6 mph.
A New MotorTrend Record
The Lucid Air Sapphire test mule beats the Plaid, popping off a gut-punching 9.2-second quarter mile with a massive 157.1-mph trap speed. What's interesting is the Lucid trails the Plaid to 60 mph by a tenth, 2.2 seconds versus 2.1. That means the Sapphire lights the afterburners once underway. The Lucid's horsepower advantage can be seen in the trap speed, where the Sapphire is going 4.9 mph faster than the Plaid—and rising. One of the fun things about getting numbers on a runway is we ran the half mile with the Sapphire, which it did in 14.4 seconds at 187.3 mph. Madness. Utter madness.
Lucid promises the Sapphire will be capable of an 8-second quarter mile on a prepped surface. Considering the Tesla Plaid picked up less than a 10th of a second going from concrete to VHT (and knowing that at least one former Plaid engineer developed the Sapphire), we believe the actual production Sapphire will be even quicker than the mule we tested. Gulp. That truly does boggle the mind, as the 9.2-second blast feels like jumping out of an airplane sideways. Obviously, we'll test the real deal as soon as we're able to. Maybe even on a dragstrip.
So how much horsepower does the Sapphire make? Lucid is still refusing to say. We know each of the Air Sapphire's three motors is individually capable of producing 670 hp and that in the Dream Edition, two of those motors put out a combined 1,111 hp. Three set up like that could and would pump out 1,667 hp. But if the motors are putting out Air Grand Touring Performance numbers (1,050 hp equally split among two motors), then that would mean 1,575 hp.
For its part, all Lucid is saying is "more than 1,200 hp." We think anywhere from 1,300 to 1,500 hp is a safe bet. We will know after the production Sapphire's reveal later this summer. The Tesla Plaid remains the king of the quarter. For now.
Knives Out For Plaid: 2025 Lucid Air Sapphire Prototype Tested!
The 1,200+HP preproduction Sapphire is the quickest vehicle we’ve ever tested in the quarter-mile.
Tourbillon
Cornering Kingpin
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*Bugatti Chiron Supersport/Lucid Air Sapphire
0-60MPH= 2.2 seconds/ 2.2 seconds
1/4-Mile= 9.1 seconds @161MPH/ 9.2 seconds @157.10MPH
1/2 Mile= 14.1 seconds @197MPH/ 14.4 seconds @187.30MPH <
+ rollout 0.2 seconds
*Car and Driver Magazine Test.
And I'm working with my Lucid colleagues to get more accurate numbers for power torque weight.
Yes she's heavy but so are hybrids.
0-60MPH= 2.2 seconds/ 2.2 seconds
1/4-Mile= 9.1 seconds @161MPH/ 9.2 seconds @157.10MPH
1/2 Mile= 14.1 seconds @197MPH/ 14.4 seconds @187.30MPH <
+ rollout 0.2 seconds
*Car and Driver Magazine Test.
And I'm working with my Lucid colleagues to get more accurate numbers for power torque weight.
Yes she's heavy but so are hybrids.
Tourbillon
Cornering Kingpin
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- 9,107
Screenshot from Motortrend TV Show. A colleague in the United States of America took it for me after he told me about the figures.
Unofficial but they make absolute sense.
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- Name
- Jonathan
Tourbillon
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New 2023 Lucid Air Sapphire review: 1200bhp supersaloon tested!
Look beyond its 1200bhp-plus output if you can – this latest Air’s true torque‑vectoring capabilities give a tantalising taste of how EVs could become genuinely rewarding
by: Jethro Bovingdon
22 Jul 2023
I’m about to throw some very big numbers around. The sort that will make some of you very excited (hi kids!) and elicit eye rolls and mournful slow head shakes from the rest. However, before we get into the nitty-gritty of the Lucid Air Sapphire’s beyond ludicrous performance stats, I’d like to convey an inkling of the enthusiasm and love poured into this project. And demonstrate that it isn’t all about the numbers.
I’m at Willow Springs to experience the new performance flagship for the Air saloon in late prototype form. It’s an opportunity to meet the engineering team, understand the powerful torque-vectoring technology of this tri-motor EV and to try to determine if it’s worth the $249,000 asking price. For the team, it’s an opportunity to get an outsider’s opinion of the dynamic direction and to further hone the complex systems that make this **2380kg monster** tick (I’m rolling the big numbers out slowly).
It’s their benchmark that I find fascinating as its gold rims sparkle in the early morning sunshine. David Lickfold, director of chassis and vehicle dynamics, and his team have chosen wisely. Lucid has bought a BMW M5 CS and it’s already cooling down after some hard laps of the track. Talk about shooting for the moon. ‘I continue to be amazed at how good it is,’ explains Lickfold. ‘At everything. It’s outrageous.’ We couldn’t agree more. The CS is truly a wonder of the motoring world. Whether the Sapphire can match its broad talents and forceful personality remains to be seen, but the very fact they recognise its brilliance is encouragement enough. They get it. Lucid wants to bring a similar level of excitement to the EV sector. God knows we need somebody to succeed in this mission.
Standing on the throttle as the track opens up from the pitlane is certainly exciting. We’ve already driven the 1111bhp dual-motor Lucid Air (see evo 298) and its performance was anything but lacking. The Sapphire goes further still. Now fitted with a pair of electric motors on the rear axle, plus one on the front, power is simply stated as ‘over 1200bhp’. Lucid’s drive units are incredibly compact and unbelievably power dense. Comprising an electric motor, inverter and integrated transmission and differential, each unit weighs 74kg and produces up to 670bhp. You almost wonder why the Sapphire doesn’t have even more power. ‘Oh, we could do that,’ says one of the team. ‘But the batteries might not like it. Plus, this is probably fast enough.’
The Sapphire doesn’t hit you like a monstrously powerful ICE car. It’s more intense than that. There’s not quite the flick-switch power you expect, but instead it’s like being caught up and then carried relentlessly forward in a stampede. The sheer scale of the forces at work feels oddly elemental. It hardly seems to matter, but for the record Lucid claims 0-60mph in 1.89sec, 0-100mph in sub-4sec and the quarter-mile in less than 10sec at something approaching 160mph. The acceleration alone leaves me feeling queasy for the next 12 hours or so. It obliterates an M5 CS, of course. Or a Ferrari SF90 come to that.
More interesting is the radical shift in philosophy compared to the other models in the Air line-up. These prioritise range and comfort, which creates a unique dynamic identity. On the one hand the fitment of modest tyres and a focus on a fluid, easy-going balance with an unfashionable amount of pitch, roll and dive goes some way towards recreating an enthusiast’s imagined past. Most Airs don’t have massively high limits and they deliberately tread a different path to the ultra-flat and stable platforms of cars like the Porsche Taycan. So you can use weight transfer to dictate the balance, play with the car’s mid-corner attitude on the throttle and four-wheel drift around until your heart’s content. However, appealing as this sounds, with so much power and weight the Air can feel playful one minute and worryingly at the mercy of sheer momentum the next.
The Sapphire is more conventional in terms of suspension tuning – stiffer, more controlled and with more mechanical grip – but has another tool to exploit that is powerful, novel and compelling: true torque vectoring. Not a nip of the brakes here, or a clutch-based rear differential to divert power side-to-side, but absolute control of each rear wheel via its own motor. The options when you have this are tantalising – dramatic slowing of the inside rear to rotate the car; accelerating the outside wheel to make the most of the newfound agility; changing that strategy at high speeds to give huge confidence and stability. It’s been the promised land for some time in the EV world but rarely can you truly feel its benefits. The Sapphire puts this technology right at its centre.
It’s a new dimension that’s layered on top of some significantly revised hardware. For example, new front and rear wings stretch over wider tracks, the Sapphire rides lower and spring and damper rates for the Bilstein suspension are considerably increased. There are subtle but effective aero tweaks to create a bit of positive downforce, plus carbon-ceramic brakes supplied by Akebono and featuring ten-piston calipers. Bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres with a near Cup 2-spec compound on the outer section are another trick ingredient to create a platform with real potential and one well equipped to deliver on the promise of the torque-vectoring capability.
‘We’ve been tuning the chassis and the algorithms to give what is almost a 3-metre-wheelbase car really good agility and balance at low speed, but a big priority has also been high-speed stability,’ explains John Culliton, senior technical specialist for chassis and vehicle dynamics. ‘But we wanted it to be seamless – totally intuitive.’
Perhaps, with time, it is. My initial impression is slightly different. I love the Sapphire’s new-found body control, the massively more resilient front end and the grittier, locked-down, keyed-in feel. With lesser Airs you’re managing the car’s performance and balancing it against the relatively modest grip. It’s entertaining but can become frustrating. The big saloon can slip too easily into understeer and the power on offer is just a little too out of kilter with the chassis limits. Now, it feels much more joined up. You can attack and feel the car accept the lateral loading. The brakes have reassuring power and subconsciously let you know there’s plenty of grip to lean into. It’s a freer experience and presents more options for the driver. On track the car’s natural responses are so different to the Air GT model also on hand ($138,000, 1050bhp) you’d hardly believe they were the same car.
Yet there is something new here, too. The torque-vectoring is tangible and intriguing. In slower turns it quickly chases understeer away with aggressive over-speeding of the rear axle; through quick turns you can feel it tweaking and cajoling the balance and holding the car in the perfect yaw angle. Sometimes this feels a little unnatural and the car reacts counter to expectations, but with more seat time I think you’d start to reprogram your own algorithms to understand and appreciate the alert agility and spookily flat, stable high-speed balance. Many great cars challenge you to adapt to their peculiarities – the Porsche 911 most notably but also cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo and Nissan GT-R – and I think as EV architecture starts to exploit the possibilities of independently controlled wheels we’ll need to embrace new techniques, too.
Today we’ve experienced one facet of the Lucid Air Sapphire’s capability. Its three drive modes – Smooth, Swift and the most aggressive Sapphire setting – offer a broad operating window and it’ll be really interesting to see how the vast possibilities of this mechanical layout can create a car with multiple personalities. But, on track at least, it’s a deeply impressive first taste. There’s still work to do on the transition between regen and friction brakes, there’s no way to fully disguise the car’s mass, and 1200-plus bhp is a real challenge even for the uprated chassis when the stability control is removed. But there’s no question this EV has personality. From the elegant, retro-futuristic look, to the coolly understated interior, wild performance and that complex, fascinating torque-vectoring capability, the Lucid Air Sapphire treads its own path. If we’re to really discover joy and a deep-rooted connection with the next generation of EVs, we need more manufacturers to exhibit this bravery."
www.evo.co.uk
Jethro is a relatively "old' hand as we say now, and a pretty well known UK Automotive Journalist.
He's actually or was employed by Motortrend so maybe he's gone Freelance again.
Anyway many respect his words and works.
I over time, sure as hell do.
Look beyond its 1200bhp-plus output if you can – this latest Air’s true torque‑vectoring capabilities give a tantalising taste of how EVs could become genuinely rewarding
by: Jethro Bovingdon
22 Jul 2023
I’m about to throw some very big numbers around. The sort that will make some of you very excited (hi kids!) and elicit eye rolls and mournful slow head shakes from the rest. However, before we get into the nitty-gritty of the Lucid Air Sapphire’s beyond ludicrous performance stats, I’d like to convey an inkling of the enthusiasm and love poured into this project. And demonstrate that it isn’t all about the numbers.
I’m at Willow Springs to experience the new performance flagship for the Air saloon in late prototype form. It’s an opportunity to meet the engineering team, understand the powerful torque-vectoring technology of this tri-motor EV and to try to determine if it’s worth the $249,000 asking price. For the team, it’s an opportunity to get an outsider’s opinion of the dynamic direction and to further hone the complex systems that make this **2380kg monster** tick (I’m rolling the big numbers out slowly).
It’s their benchmark that I find fascinating as its gold rims sparkle in the early morning sunshine. David Lickfold, director of chassis and vehicle dynamics, and his team have chosen wisely. Lucid has bought a BMW M5 CS and it’s already cooling down after some hard laps of the track. Talk about shooting for the moon. ‘I continue to be amazed at how good it is,’ explains Lickfold. ‘At everything. It’s outrageous.’ We couldn’t agree more. The CS is truly a wonder of the motoring world. Whether the Sapphire can match its broad talents and forceful personality remains to be seen, but the very fact they recognise its brilliance is encouragement enough. They get it. Lucid wants to bring a similar level of excitement to the EV sector. God knows we need somebody to succeed in this mission.
Standing on the throttle as the track opens up from the pitlane is certainly exciting. We’ve already driven the 1111bhp dual-motor Lucid Air (see evo 298) and its performance was anything but lacking. The Sapphire goes further still. Now fitted with a pair of electric motors on the rear axle, plus one on the front, power is simply stated as ‘over 1200bhp’. Lucid’s drive units are incredibly compact and unbelievably power dense. Comprising an electric motor, inverter and integrated transmission and differential, each unit weighs 74kg and produces up to 670bhp. You almost wonder why the Sapphire doesn’t have even more power. ‘Oh, we could do that,’ says one of the team. ‘But the batteries might not like it. Plus, this is probably fast enough.’
The Sapphire doesn’t hit you like a monstrously powerful ICE car. It’s more intense than that. There’s not quite the flick-switch power you expect, but instead it’s like being caught up and then carried relentlessly forward in a stampede. The sheer scale of the forces at work feels oddly elemental. It hardly seems to matter, but for the record Lucid claims 0-60mph in 1.89sec, 0-100mph in sub-4sec and the quarter-mile in less than 10sec at something approaching 160mph. The acceleration alone leaves me feeling queasy for the next 12 hours or so. It obliterates an M5 CS, of course. Or a Ferrari SF90 come to that.
More interesting is the radical shift in philosophy compared to the other models in the Air line-up. These prioritise range and comfort, which creates a unique dynamic identity. On the one hand the fitment of modest tyres and a focus on a fluid, easy-going balance with an unfashionable amount of pitch, roll and dive goes some way towards recreating an enthusiast’s imagined past. Most Airs don’t have massively high limits and they deliberately tread a different path to the ultra-flat and stable platforms of cars like the Porsche Taycan. So you can use weight transfer to dictate the balance, play with the car’s mid-corner attitude on the throttle and four-wheel drift around until your heart’s content. However, appealing as this sounds, with so much power and weight the Air can feel playful one minute and worryingly at the mercy of sheer momentum the next.
The Sapphire is more conventional in terms of suspension tuning – stiffer, more controlled and with more mechanical grip – but has another tool to exploit that is powerful, novel and compelling: true torque vectoring. Not a nip of the brakes here, or a clutch-based rear differential to divert power side-to-side, but absolute control of each rear wheel via its own motor. The options when you have this are tantalising – dramatic slowing of the inside rear to rotate the car; accelerating the outside wheel to make the most of the newfound agility; changing that strategy at high speeds to give huge confidence and stability. It’s been the promised land for some time in the EV world but rarely can you truly feel its benefits. The Sapphire puts this technology right at its centre.
It’s a new dimension that’s layered on top of some significantly revised hardware. For example, new front and rear wings stretch over wider tracks, the Sapphire rides lower and spring and damper rates for the Bilstein suspension are considerably increased. There are subtle but effective aero tweaks to create a bit of positive downforce, plus carbon-ceramic brakes supplied by Akebono and featuring ten-piston calipers. Bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S tyres with a near Cup 2-spec compound on the outer section are another trick ingredient to create a platform with real potential and one well equipped to deliver on the promise of the torque-vectoring capability.
‘We’ve been tuning the chassis and the algorithms to give what is almost a 3-metre-wheelbase car really good agility and balance at low speed, but a big priority has also been high-speed stability,’ explains John Culliton, senior technical specialist for chassis and vehicle dynamics. ‘But we wanted it to be seamless – totally intuitive.’
Perhaps, with time, it is. My initial impression is slightly different. I love the Sapphire’s new-found body control, the massively more resilient front end and the grittier, locked-down, keyed-in feel. With lesser Airs you’re managing the car’s performance and balancing it against the relatively modest grip. It’s entertaining but can become frustrating. The big saloon can slip too easily into understeer and the power on offer is just a little too out of kilter with the chassis limits. Now, it feels much more joined up. You can attack and feel the car accept the lateral loading. The brakes have reassuring power and subconsciously let you know there’s plenty of grip to lean into. It’s a freer experience and presents more options for the driver. On track the car’s natural responses are so different to the Air GT model also on hand ($138,000, 1050bhp) you’d hardly believe they were the same car.
Yet there is something new here, too. The torque-vectoring is tangible and intriguing. In slower turns it quickly chases understeer away with aggressive over-speeding of the rear axle; through quick turns you can feel it tweaking and cajoling the balance and holding the car in the perfect yaw angle. Sometimes this feels a little unnatural and the car reacts counter to expectations, but with more seat time I think you’d start to reprogram your own algorithms to understand and appreciate the alert agility and spookily flat, stable high-speed balance. Many great cars challenge you to adapt to their peculiarities – the Porsche 911 most notably but also cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo and Nissan GT-R – and I think as EV architecture starts to exploit the possibilities of independently controlled wheels we’ll need to embrace new techniques, too.
Today we’ve experienced one facet of the Lucid Air Sapphire’s capability. Its three drive modes – Smooth, Swift and the most aggressive Sapphire setting – offer a broad operating window and it’ll be really interesting to see how the vast possibilities of this mechanical layout can create a car with multiple personalities. But, on track at least, it’s a deeply impressive first taste. There’s still work to do on the transition between regen and friction brakes, there’s no way to fully disguise the car’s mass, and 1200-plus bhp is a real challenge even for the uprated chassis when the stability control is removed. But there’s no question this EV has personality. From the elegant, retro-futuristic look, to the coolly understated interior, wild performance and that complex, fascinating torque-vectoring capability, the Lucid Air Sapphire treads its own path. If we’re to really discover joy and a deep-rooted connection with the next generation of EVs, we need more manufacturers to exhibit this bravery."
New 2023 Lucid Air Sapphire review: 1200bhp supersaloon tested | Evo
Look beyond its 1200bhp-plus output if you can – this latest Air’s true torque‑vectoring capabilities give a tantalising taste of how EVs could become genuinely rewarding
www.evo.co.uk
Jethro is a relatively "old' hand as we say now, and a pretty well known UK Automotive Journalist.
He's actually or was employed by Motortrend so maybe he's gone Freelance again.
Anyway many respect his words and works.
I over time, sure as hell do.
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- 13,230
Like I posted elsewhere, I believe, with time, EVs will develop their own unique driving emotion. Not some fake engine noise and gimmicky shifting carried over for nostalgia.
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Thread '"Introducing Lucid Air Sapphire: The Pinnacle of Electric Performance."'- Tourbillon
Replies: 257
