Lucid Motors has reported on setting a new international record in “Production Sedan category”: the startup’s Air EV has covered a quarter of a mile (402 meters) in 9.9 seconds.
The Air is now officially recognized as the fastest quarter-mile saloon, having dethroned the top-end Tesla Model S that ran the strip in 10.48 seconds this May.
The company explains that its powertrains combine an electric motor and a single-gear transmission in a unit sized close to a carry-on bag. Despite the modest dimensions, the unit makes 650 horsepower (485 kilowatts). The Lucid Air Dream Edition packs two of these and hits the road with 1,080 hp (805 kW) total.
No sprint times have been measured so far except the 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) time, which is being reported as “under 2.5 seconds”. The fully equipped Tesla Model S needs 2.4 seconds for the same exercise.
Having said that, the Lucid Air aspires to surpass Elon Musk’s sports car in every possible respect, including range, dynamics and charging speed. It will likely pack a price tag to match those specs, but no specifics exist to date.
The premiere of the battery supercar will be held on Wednesday, September 9, 2020.