Lucid Motors, a Silicon Valley EV startup established in 2007 as the battery manufacturer Atieva, has revealed its first production model, the Air. Slated to go on sale sometime in 2018, this obvious rival for the Tesla Model S will open around $85,000 while the initial run of 225 more lavishly equipped Air Launch Editions will carry a pricetag near $150,000. Both versions of the new Lucid Air share an all-wheel-drive system that uses a motor at each axle and collectively produces over 1,000 horsepower, allowing the car to bolt from 0-60 mph in a claimed 2.5 seconds.
Slightly larger than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class but with interior room more in line with a full-size car, the Lucid Air will be fitted with a 100 kWh lithium-ion battery pack produced by its supplier its partner, Samsung SDI. It holds sufficient energy to give the car a range “in excess of 300 miles,” but an optional 130-kWh lithium-ion battery pack promises to let it travel 400 miles on a single charge. To be produced at a new facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, the Lucid Air will bolster its long list of features with Level 4 semi-autonomous capability at launch thanks to an array of ultrasonic sensors, long-range cameras, radar and LIDAR. However, its makers are already developing a fully autonomous system for the vehicle.
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