The electric car race is definitely on. We do know that the Chevrolet Bolt EV has begun to ship, an electric hatchback that is able to offer a phenomenal 240-mile range on a full charge, which is far more than what other models before it from different manufacturers were able to deliver. However, the Bolt EV is not going to burn any rubber at all from standstill, and there is the specter of the Tesla Model 3 looming in the background for an end 2017 release, also laying claim to a range that tops 200 miles. With all of that, what can we make of Lucid Motors’ Air?
Well, the Air is basically a luxury electric car, which is a segment that has yet to be fully explored by vehicle manufacturers at the moment, although we are quite sure that the picture will be very different in a few years’ time if electric vehicles take off in a large way. The Air from Lucid Motors will not only help you to arrive at your destination in style, it has minimal impact on nature, and best of all is, it claims to be able to run for a whopping 400 miles before requiring a recharge. Now that is certainly a specification that blows the rest of the competition out of the water.
Based in California, the Air was revealed by Lucid Motors today. And to think that the Air is the first car from Lucid Motors makes things even scarier -- what if its future releases will boast of even farther range? Heck, 400 miles is a whole lot, and is comparable to what some of our gas-powered rides offer at the moment. This is a fully electric sedan that targets the high-end executive market, and it achieves its 400-mile range rating thanks to the 100kWh battery. Not only that, you will be able to smoke other exotic rides as well with a 0-60 mph time of just 2.5 seconds. I know, right?
However, the Lucid Motors Air is not available for purchase just yet, as the company is looking to send it out to the market this coming 2018 -- which means there should be slightly more than a year to go in terms of testing and refinement before it is ready to hit the roads. It does not come across as a surprise at all that Lucid’s founding team comprises of at least one former Tesla team member, CTO Peter Rawlinson, in addition to Derek Jenkins who worked with Mazda and VW, alongside Brian Barron who was with BMW before. The Air is going to be manufactured and assembled at a new factory facility in Arizona next year, and the starting price of over $100,000 will clearly place it out of reach of the masses.
Perhaps it is priced to compete with the high-end luxury car market, such as the BMW 7 Series and the Mercedes S-Class? It would be interesting to see how the electric car market would have evolved by the time 2018 rolls around.
