Luxury electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors has unveiled the new Lucid Air Sapphire Edition, which the company says can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in less than 2 seconds and to 400 km/h in less than 10 seconds! This is a very impressive performance for a full-size and all-electric sedan, making the new sapphire blue car the most dynamic production sedan on the market. The previous record holder was the Tesla Model S Plaid.
The new Lucid Air Sapphire Edition, which was unveiled Friday during Monterey Car Week, includes a number of features from previous Lucid Air versions such as the Dream Edition and Grand Touring Performance Edition. The new version of the Air gets three engines, two in the rear and one in the front, which Lucid says brings the total power rating to 1,200 horsepower.
As Eric Bach, lead engineer at Lucid, said during a press briefing, “With the release of the new model, Lucid redefines the idea of a family sedan“. The dual rear drive features two 500kW Dream Performance Edition inverter motors as well as custom made planetary gears. This rear propulsion system allows torque to be applied to each wheel in opposite directions, giving the Sapphire Edition more stability on the road. The system also makes it possible to apply regenerative braking to the rear wheels separately, which has a positive effect on the handling of a large sedan when cornering. Rear-wheel drive power units also received new-generation radiators with increased coolant flow.
The company said it would upgrade the battery system for more power and better thermal management, but did not provide specific details. With such high levels of power and speed, it is necessary to pay great attention to the brakes, suspension tuning and tires. To that end, Lucid switched to carbon-ceramic brakes, changed suspension spring rates, added anti-roll bars, and upgraded the power steering and ABS system.
The Sapphire Edition will get custom-made composite wheels and a special set of tires (20″ front and 21″ rear) made from a material that combines high grip with skid resistance, similar to the Michelin Cup 2 tires. Lucid will also offer a set of wheel fairings that can be attached to the discs to make them more aerodynamic and efficient for longer, slower rides.
In addition to improved technical specifications, the Air Sapphire Edition model will feature some visual changes. The most important of them is the blue color of the body, side mirrors and rear wing, exclusive to Air Sapphire. The rear of the car has become slightly wider (by about 24 mm), while the front has increased by 12 mm. At the same time, even with the additional engine, the interior space and luggage compartment remained the same size as the standard Lucid Air. The Sapphire Edition model will be assembled on the same line as the rest of the Air, produced at the company’s plant in Arizona.
Lucid claims the new Sapphire Edition will start at $249,000, $69,000 more than the $180,000 Grand Touring Performance. The company is also facing component delays and falling behind on production schedules, due in part to supply shortages caused by the pandemic and logistical issues. This year, the company also had to raise the price of its cars due to the threat of global inflation.
Lucid did not say exactly how many Grand Touring Performance cars it plans to produce, but said production will be limited due to new components needed for the car. Pre-sales of the new model began today. A spokesperson for the company says production delays will not affect Sapphire customers and deliveries will begin in the first half of 2023.
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