Lucid finally become a reality after delivering their Lucid Air, Dream Edition to customers, and confirming to the world that they are serious and it for the long haul.
Plenty of startups are working on exciting new electric cars right now. But delivering actual vehicles is a whole different story. And Lucid Motors almost never got off the prototype stage before a Billon Dollar cash injection from a Saudi Arabia consortium that enabled the start up to set up their factory in Casa Grande, Arizona.
We first laid our eyes on the much unchanged prototype almost 5 years ago when it was unveiled on December 14th 2016 amid huge excitement of a worthy rival for Tesla. It was a hard ask then but they seem to have ticked all the right boxes by delivering something to the public that is better than what is already existing in the market.
Lucid Motors started handing over keys to customers this week when it presented a handful of owners with the first Air Dream Edition sedans. Lucid is only building 520 of them, and they sell for about 17 Million (($169,000) each.
The reason for the limited run of 520, of which most will be collector items, is because of the magic number in the longest range of any production vehicle, 520 Miles.
And in doing so, apart from a really, really good looking solid build, the car is going to be fast, it comes with a 1080 horsepower motor in the performance version. That is some serious power that should launch the luxury limo sedan to 100 Km/h in just 2.5 seconds.
Lucid Motors is currently best known for supplying batteries to Formula E race cars. Now, the upstart company looks to challenge the best in the business, Tesla. With their in-house battery tech, the future looks bright for them and other EV makers should Lucid decide to supply the competition with power cells.
The Lucid Air is priced to go directly against the Mercedes EQS and Porsche Taycan Turbo S in the ultra-luxury 4 door segment. They will not have trouble selling these as Saudi Arabia, who own 63% of the company, is set to become their biggest market, and they will build their next factory in the Kingdom to serve the wealthy Middle East clientele and Asian market.
Make no mistake, the Lucid Air is meant to be a luxury car, and its spacious luxurious interior is fitted with rich-looking materials and cutting-edge technology. Lucid is especially proud of the sedan’s expansive rear passenger space, which is highlighted by a large back seat. While the standard rear seating is said to be comfortable for up to three adults, there’s also an optional Executive Rear Seating option that brings significant recline functions for ultimate comfort. The Lucid Air’s cabin will offer a mostly glass roof that makes it feel even airier and helps outward visibility. The sedan’s front center console looks to provide generous storage space behind the retractable lower touchscreen and inside the large center-console bin, which houses a set of cupholders as well as slots to place a smartphone. We’re also told its front trunk—or frunk—will have 10 cubic feet of volume, the largest of any electric vehicle.
2022 Porsche Taycan: A Tesla Rival That’s Eye-Catching—but Pricey https://t.co/LpPpUP4XZN
— Ahmednasir Abdullahi SC (@ahmednasirlaw) October 17, 2021
This is great news for wealthy EV Enthusiasts out there. In Kenya, maybe Ahmednasir aka Grand Mullah will get one, we know he likes nice expensive cars, he recently posted the equally expensive, full electric Porsche Taycan, let’s see when they have a right hand drive version ready.
Here’s a video by Ben Sullins with more info:
