Lucid: Air News
12-15-2016, 08:32 AM
#1
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Lucid: Air News
New Lucid Air is a 1,000bhp EV to beat Tesla | Top Gear
TL;DR: 400 mile range, fast charging, MB E-class sized with S-class interior space, due 2018.
TL;DR: 400 mile range, fast charging, MB E-class sized with S-class interior space, due 2018.
Want a thousand HP luxury saloon with a cool-sounding name? Right this way
Lucid Motors has released details of its upcoming, 1,000bhp electric luxury saloon, which looks like it’ll be able to out-Tesla Tesla.
The California-based company claims its first car, the Air, will have 400 miles of electric range and fast-charging batteries that can stand up to repeated charge cycles without degradation. That said, they are being supplied by Samsung, which isn’t exactly the gold standard when it comes to non-immolating batteries at the moment.
Exploding Galaxy jokes aside, this technology is seriously important when it comes to the future of electric cars. By reducing and even removing the traditional drawbacks of mains-powered motoring – long recharge times, battery degradation and range anxiety – EVs can get a proper foothold in the regular car market, not just for pie-in-the-sky early adopters and environmentalists. And that means better air quality, quieter cities and (with any luck) that places like Singapore, Amsterdam and Venice won’t get swallowed up by rising sea levels – a definite plus for drunken Australian tourists.
The battery technology will be put to the test in Formula E in seasons five and six, now that Lucid’s been signed as the sole battery supplier to the race series. The current batteries need a mid-race swap, but Lucid’s have enough juice to get through an entire race. In any case, it should be proof positive for Lucid’s tech.
Lucid says that the Air’s powertrain is “smaller, more efficient and more power-dense than competitors” as well. And you’d better believe they’re including Tesla in that broad sweep. Lead engineer Peter Rawlinson says that the small footprint of an electric drivetrain “unlocked doors to an array of designs that hasn’t been achieved before”, allowing the new Air to have “the interior space of a long wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class [in a car] that’s a little bit bigger than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class [and] shorter, narrower, and lower than a Tesla Model S.” And you can see, by the photos here, that they’re spot-on. And if the name Peter Rawlinson rings any bells, that’s because the Brit is one of the minds behind the Tesla Model S. Quite a resume, that.
Derek Jenkins, whose own resume includes the lovely new MX-5, is responsible for Lucid’s design direction, which is a pleasingly reserved, future-cool and ultra-crisp interpretation of modern executive saloons. Inside, there’s a proliferation of screens, but it all looks simple to use and unobtrusive – exactly how tech should be. The rear seats are especially worthy of note, especially for budding Sir Sugars, thanks to Maybach-esque reclining lounges. It’s an optional extra, yes, but one we’d tick.
For now, Lucid’s leaving complete car autonomy to Waymo (nee: Google), preferring to retain a steering wheel so the Air can actually be driven. And we like this too. Of course, it’ll be set up to drive itself, otherwise, it’d run the risk of being entirely overshadowed in the increasingly hands-off future we’re being propelled towards.
Lucid Motors may feel like it’s come out of nowhere, but it grew from the battery technology company Atieva, which has been around since 2007. Thankfully, Lucid is a much cooler name. The company was born in Silicon Valley in California (where else?) but has set up its car-building base in Arizona, which will be led by an ex-BMW manufacturing exec. Clearly, Lucid wants to avoid the usual ‘coming soon…ish’ reality for so many start-up companies.
Even so, the Air, won’t be available until late 2018. And we’ll be waiting for it.
Lucid Motors has released details of its upcoming, 1,000bhp electric luxury saloon, which looks like it’ll be able to out-Tesla Tesla.
The California-based company claims its first car, the Air, will have 400 miles of electric range and fast-charging batteries that can stand up to repeated charge cycles without degradation. That said, they are being supplied by Samsung, which isn’t exactly the gold standard when it comes to non-immolating batteries at the moment.
Exploding Galaxy jokes aside, this technology is seriously important when it comes to the future of electric cars. By reducing and even removing the traditional drawbacks of mains-powered motoring – long recharge times, battery degradation and range anxiety – EVs can get a proper foothold in the regular car market, not just for pie-in-the-sky early adopters and environmentalists. And that means better air quality, quieter cities and (with any luck) that places like Singapore, Amsterdam and Venice won’t get swallowed up by rising sea levels – a definite plus for drunken Australian tourists.
The battery technology will be put to the test in Formula E in seasons five and six, now that Lucid’s been signed as the sole battery supplier to the race series. The current batteries need a mid-race swap, but Lucid’s have enough juice to get through an entire race. In any case, it should be proof positive for Lucid’s tech.
Lucid says that the Air’s powertrain is “smaller, more efficient and more power-dense than competitors” as well. And you’d better believe they’re including Tesla in that broad sweep. Lead engineer Peter Rawlinson says that the small footprint of an electric drivetrain “unlocked doors to an array of designs that hasn’t been achieved before”, allowing the new Air to have “the interior space of a long wheelbase Mercedes-Benz S-Class [in a car] that’s a little bit bigger than the Mercedes-Benz E-Class [and] shorter, narrower, and lower than a Tesla Model S.” And you can see, by the photos here, that they’re spot-on. And if the name Peter Rawlinson rings any bells, that’s because the Brit is one of the minds behind the Tesla Model S. Quite a resume, that.
Derek Jenkins, whose own resume includes the lovely new MX-5, is responsible for Lucid’s design direction, which is a pleasingly reserved, future-cool and ultra-crisp interpretation of modern executive saloons. Inside, there’s a proliferation of screens, but it all looks simple to use and unobtrusive – exactly how tech should be. The rear seats are especially worthy of note, especially for budding Sir Sugars, thanks to Maybach-esque reclining lounges. It’s an optional extra, yes, but one we’d tick.
For now, Lucid’s leaving complete car autonomy to Waymo (nee: Google), preferring to retain a steering wheel so the Air can actually be driven. And we like this too. Of course, it’ll be set up to drive itself, otherwise, it’d run the risk of being entirely overshadowed in the increasingly hands-off future we’re being propelled towards.
Lucid Motors may feel like it’s come out of nowhere, but it grew from the battery technology company Atieva, which has been around since 2007. Thankfully, Lucid is a much cooler name. The company was born in Silicon Valley in California (where else?) but has set up its car-building base in Arizona, which will be led by an ex-BMW manufacturing exec. Clearly, Lucid wants to avoid the usual ‘coming soon…ish’ reality for so many start-up companies.
Even so, the Air, won’t be available until late 2018. And we’ll be waiting for it.
12-15-2016, 08:32 AM
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12-15-2016, 08:33 AM
#3
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Comfy (08-11-2020)
12-15-2016, 02:36 PM
#4
Looks really hot! Explosive looking.
Oh, the batteries are made by Samsung.
Oh, the batteries are made by Samsung.
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#1 STUNNA (12-27-2019)
12-15-2016, 02:49 PM
#5
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:giggle:
With them [Lucid] being the exclusive Formula E battery provider (per the article), as long as the FE cars aren't exploding, I'm sure a road car would work. Should give them a good chance of a solid shakedown.
With them [Lucid] being the exclusive Formula E battery provider (per the article), as long as the FE cars aren't exploding, I'm sure a road car would work. Should give them a good chance of a solid shakedown.
09-17-2018, 12:04 PM
#6
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https://www.theverge.com/2018/9/17/1...bia-deal-tesla
Lucid Motors, the electric car startup that aims to compete with Tesla, will receive an eye-popping $1 billion in funding from Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, the kingdom announced on Monday. The investment will finance Lucid Motor’s 2020 commercial launch of its first electric vehicle, the Lucid Air. Meanwhile, Tesla’s stock dipped by as much as 2 percent in early trading on news of the investment.
The deal is a major win for Lucid, which has languished over the last year as it failed to secure the funding necessary to start making its luxury electric cars. News of the talks comes weeks after Saudi Arabia purchased 5 percent of Tesla and emerged as a central player in Elon Musk’s failed effort to take the company private again. Musk cited conversations with the director of the Saudi fund as the impetus for his push to take Tesla private.
Under the agreement, Lucid will use the funding to complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air; construct its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona; begin the global rollout of its retail strategy starting in North America; and enter production for the Lucid Air.
“The convergence of new technologies is reshaping the automobile, but the benefits have yet to be truly realized,” Peter Rawlinson, chief technology officer of Lucid (and a former executive at Tesla), said in a statement. “This is inhibiting the pace at which sustainable mobility and energy are adopted. At Lucid, we will demonstrate the full potential of the electric connected vehicle in order to push the industry forward.”
A spokesperson for the Saudi Public Investment Fund said: “By investing in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market, PIF is gaining exposure to long-term growth opportunities, supporting innovation and technological development and driving revenue and sectoral diversification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Lucid Motors unveiled the Air at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2016. It brought a prototype version to CES in 2017 and spent the rest of the year slowly letting out more information about the car, including its estimated price (the base model will cost about $60,000) and ship date (2019). It also slowly showed off the car’s impressive performance capabilities.
Atieva, the parent company that runs Lucid Motors, has not been able to come up with enough money to put the Lucid Air into production. The company has locked down a site in Arizona where it wants to build a $700 million factory, but it has had trouble securing a new round of funding to help make that happen. Ford was rumored to be interested in buying the company last summer, but a deal never materialized. Aside from moving to a new headquarters in December, the company has been mostly silent over the past year.
The deal is a major win for Lucid, which has languished over the last year as it failed to secure the funding necessary to start making its luxury electric cars. News of the talks comes weeks after Saudi Arabia purchased 5 percent of Tesla and emerged as a central player in Elon Musk’s failed effort to take the company private again. Musk cited conversations with the director of the Saudi fund as the impetus for his push to take Tesla private.
Under the agreement, Lucid will use the funding to complete engineering development and testing of the Lucid Air; construct its factory in Casa Grande, Arizona; begin the global rollout of its retail strategy starting in North America; and enter production for the Lucid Air.
“The convergence of new technologies is reshaping the automobile, but the benefits have yet to be truly realized,” Peter Rawlinson, chief technology officer of Lucid (and a former executive at Tesla), said in a statement. “This is inhibiting the pace at which sustainable mobility and energy are adopted. At Lucid, we will demonstrate the full potential of the electric connected vehicle in order to push the industry forward.”
A spokesperson for the Saudi Public Investment Fund said: “By investing in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market, PIF is gaining exposure to long-term growth opportunities, supporting innovation and technological development and driving revenue and sectoral diversification for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”
Lucid Motors unveiled the Air at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2016. It brought a prototype version to CES in 2017 and spent the rest of the year slowly letting out more information about the car, including its estimated price (the base model will cost about $60,000) and ship date (2019). It also slowly showed off the car’s impressive performance capabilities.
Atieva, the parent company that runs Lucid Motors, has not been able to come up with enough money to put the Lucid Air into production. The company has locked down a site in Arizona where it wants to build a $700 million factory, but it has had trouble securing a new round of funding to help make that happen. Ford was rumored to be interested in buying the company last summer, but a deal never materialized. Aside from moving to a new headquarters in December, the company has been mostly silent over the past year.
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04-05-2019, 03:19 PM
#8
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https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...-sedan-in-2020
Lucid Motors confirmed Thursday that it has completed the sale of a $1 billion stake to Saudi Arabia, specifically the Middle Eastern country's Public Investment Fund (PIF).
Saudi Arabia's PIF also owns 5 percent of Tesla, CEO Elon Musk revealed last August.
Details of the deal with Lucid haven't been announced but it is thought to have been for a majority stake in the privately held EV startup.
Since the deal was first announced last September, Lucid has made major steps toward realizing production of its first product, the Air luxury sedan. Prototypes have reached a late stage of development and Lucid has reached a deal with Electrify America to provide future owners with hassle-free charging.
By the end of June, Electrify America will install or have under construction over 2,000 high-speed charge points at nearly 500 sites in metro and highway locations across 40 states and 17 major cities. These will offer charging at up to 350 kilowatts.
Lucid's team also recently moved into a new 305,000 square-foot headquarters in Silicon Valley and is preparing to break ground on a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. If all goes to plan, Lucid hopes to have the Air in production in 2020.
The Air was unveiled in late 2016 and in base trim is expected to offer 400 horsepower and 240 miles of range. The range-topping version is expected to offer as much as 1,000 hp and 400 miles. An SUV is tipped to follow as the next model from the startup.
You might be wondering why the Saudis, one of the world's biggest oil producers, is investing in electric car companies. It's part of the country's Vision 2030 plan aimed at boosting revenues and ending a dependence on oil, though things haven't gone as smoothly as the country's leaders expected due to the ongoing war on neighboring Yemen and the cancellation of the much-hyped initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, the country's national oil giant.
Saudi Arabia's PIF also owns 5 percent of Tesla, CEO Elon Musk revealed last August.
Details of the deal with Lucid haven't been announced but it is thought to have been for a majority stake in the privately held EV startup.
Since the deal was first announced last September, Lucid has made major steps toward realizing production of its first product, the Air luxury sedan. Prototypes have reached a late stage of development and Lucid has reached a deal with Electrify America to provide future owners with hassle-free charging.
By the end of June, Electrify America will install or have under construction over 2,000 high-speed charge points at nearly 500 sites in metro and highway locations across 40 states and 17 major cities. These will offer charging at up to 350 kilowatts.
Lucid's team also recently moved into a new 305,000 square-foot headquarters in Silicon Valley and is preparing to break ground on a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. If all goes to plan, Lucid hopes to have the Air in production in 2020.
The Air was unveiled in late 2016 and in base trim is expected to offer 400 horsepower and 240 miles of range. The range-topping version is expected to offer as much as 1,000 hp and 400 miles. An SUV is tipped to follow as the next model from the startup.
You might be wondering why the Saudis, one of the world's biggest oil producers, is investing in electric car companies. It's part of the country's Vision 2030 plan aimed at boosting revenues and ending a dependence on oil, though things haven't gone as smoothly as the country's leaders expected due to the ongoing war on neighboring Yemen and the cancellation of the much-hyped initial public offering of Saudi Aramco, the country's national oil giant.
04-26-2019, 09:32 AM
#9
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https://www.motorauthority.com/news/...-tesla-model-s
Fresh from a $1 billion stake sale to the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund, luxury EV startup Lucid on Monday named Peter Rawlinson as its new CEO.
Rawlinson was the chief engineer of the Tesla Model S prior to joining Lucid as chief technology officer in 2013, and he has helped to develop a number of vehicles from various brands, notably Lotus and Jaguar.
In his new role as Lucid CEO, Rawlinson replaces company co-founder Sam Weng and will remain CTO.
Weng, who has retired, founded Lucid together with Bernard Tse, another former Tesla executive, in 2007 as a battery technology company originally by the name of Atieva. Lucid was spun off from Atieva in 2016 as an EV startup, with the original Atieva remaining a noted battery technology company and supplier.
Lucid recently moved into a new 305,000-square-foot headquarters in Silicon Valley and is preparing to break ground on a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. The company aims to have a high-performance electric sedan called the Air in production in 2020.
The Air was unveiled in late 2016, and at the time Lucid promised the base model will offer 400 horsepower and 240 miles of range. The range-topping version will offer as much as 1,000 hp and 400 miles. An SUV is tipped to follow as the next model from the startup.
Rawlinson was the chief engineer of the Tesla Model S prior to joining Lucid as chief technology officer in 2013, and he has helped to develop a number of vehicles from various brands, notably Lotus and Jaguar.
In his new role as Lucid CEO, Rawlinson replaces company co-founder Sam Weng and will remain CTO.
Weng, who has retired, founded Lucid together with Bernard Tse, another former Tesla executive, in 2007 as a battery technology company originally by the name of Atieva. Lucid was spun off from Atieva in 2016 as an EV startup, with the original Atieva remaining a noted battery technology company and supplier.
Lucid recently moved into a new 305,000-square-foot headquarters in Silicon Valley and is preparing to break ground on a plant in Casa Grande, Arizona. The company aims to have a high-performance electric sedan called the Air in production in 2020.
The Air was unveiled in late 2016, and at the time Lucid promised the base model will offer 400 horsepower and 240 miles of range. The range-topping version will offer as much as 1,000 hp and 400 miles. An SUV is tipped to follow as the next model from the startup.
04-28-2019, 04:15 AM
#10
Not a huge fan (pun intended) of that D-Pillar. I do however really like that more manufacturers are getting into the performance EV game.
I do find it very interesting that a country who built it's wealth on oil is so heavily invested in an electric car company. You'd think they'd be lobbying against EV's.
I do find it very interesting that a country who built it's wealth on oil is so heavily invested in an electric car company. You'd think they'd be lobbying against EV's.
12-02-2019, 02:15 PM
#11
Race Director
Lucid Motors is finally starting construction on its electric car factory in Arizona after years of financial issues and now has unveiled the first images of its EV factory as construction is starting and should ramp up fast.In 2017, Lucid Motors announced an aggressive $60,000 base price for its luxury all-electric sedan, the Lucid Air, with a range of 240 miles and some other interesting specs.
At the time, Lucid also unveiled its plan for a $700 million factory in Arizona to produce the Air in 2018.
However, they had difficulties raising the capital needed to start construction on the plant.
Late last year, Lucid secured over $1 billion in investments from Saudi Arabia, which put them back on track for their 2017 plans.
After a year, they started work again at the site Casa Grande site in Arizona.
Now the company has held its ground-breaking event and started construction at the facility.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid Motors and formerly the chief engineer of the Tesla Model S, commented at the event:
“The Lucid Air is a cutting-edge electric vehicle designed, engineered, and destined for manufacture entirely in America. We are proud to be moving forward on our commitment to manufacturing the Lucid Air in Casa Grande. With supportive investors, an outstanding team of designers and engineers, and a product strategy that extends well beyond the Air, we expect today to be just the start of a longstanding presence in this dynamic city.”
They released the first images of the updated planned factory:
They announced some details about the expected economic impact on the city, county, and state, including:
“Attracting a high-tech automotive manufacturer like Lucid Motors to Arizona is a testament to the talent, business environment, and geographic location our state has to offer innovative companies to help them succeed. I congratulate Lucid Motors, Casa Grande, and Pinal County on achieving this milestone and look forward to seeing the first vehicles roll off the production line.”
Lucid Motors believes they are now on track for production to start in “late 2020.”
However, I find it hard to believe that production will happen by the end of 2020 or at least not in any kind of significant volume, but I wish them luck because I really want to see the Lucid Air on the road one day.
At the time, Lucid also unveiled its plan for a $700 million factory in Arizona to produce the Air in 2018.
However, they had difficulties raising the capital needed to start construction on the plant.
Late last year, Lucid secured over $1 billion in investments from Saudi Arabia, which put them back on track for their 2017 plans.
After a year, they started work again at the site Casa Grande site in Arizona.
Now the company has held its ground-breaking event and started construction at the facility.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid Motors and formerly the chief engineer of the Tesla Model S, commented at the event:
“The Lucid Air is a cutting-edge electric vehicle designed, engineered, and destined for manufacture entirely in America. We are proud to be moving forward on our commitment to manufacturing the Lucid Air in Casa Grande. With supportive investors, an outstanding team of designers and engineers, and a product strategy that extends well beyond the Air, we expect today to be just the start of a longstanding presence in this dynamic city.”
They released the first images of the updated planned factory:
They announced some details about the expected economic impact on the city, county, and state, including:
- Approximately 4,800 direct and indirect jobs by 2029
- Over $700 million in capital investment by Lucid by the mid-2020s
- An estimated $32 billion revenue impact for the city and county over a 20-year period
- Training programs and new curriculums at local community colleges
“Attracting a high-tech automotive manufacturer like Lucid Motors to Arizona is a testament to the talent, business environment, and geographic location our state has to offer innovative companies to help them succeed. I congratulate Lucid Motors, Casa Grande, and Pinal County on achieving this milestone and look forward to seeing the first vehicles roll off the production line.”
Lucid Motors believes they are now on track for production to start in “late 2020.”
Electrek’s Take
We are keeping an eye on this project because it really looks like it’s going to happen now that Lucid has the money and a new large scale EV factory in the US is exciting.However, I find it hard to believe that production will happen by the end of 2020 or at least not in any kind of significant volume, but I wish them luck because I really want to see the Lucid Air on the road one day.
12-02-2019, 07:11 PM
#12
Sanest Florida Man
Not a huge fan (pun intended) of that D-Pillar. I do however really like that more manufacturers are getting into the performance EV game.
I do find it very interesting that a country who built it's wealth on oil is so heavily invested in an electric car company. You'd think they'd be lobbying against EV's.
I do find it very interesting that a country who built it's wealth on oil is so heavily invested in an electric car company. You'd think they'd be lobbying against EV's.
There’s a famous quote from Sheikh Rashid the former Prime Minister of the UAE
"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel."
It reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within a few generations. He therefore worked to develop the economy of Dubai so that it could survive after the end of oil production. Others in the region see it the same way
12-26-2019, 02:14 PM
#13
They tried fighting the change but unlike American conservatives they know that gas will eventually run out and that they need to find new ways to make money to keep their economies going.
There’s a famous quote from Sheikh Rashid the former Prime Minister of the UAE
"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel."
It reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within a few generations. He therefore worked to develop the economy of Dubai so that it could survive after the end of oil production. Others in the region see it the same way
There’s a famous quote from Sheikh Rashid the former Prime Minister of the UAE
"My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I drive a Mercedes, my son drives a Land Rover, his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel."
It reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within a few generations. He therefore worked to develop the economy of Dubai so that it could survive after the end of oil production. Others in the region see it the same way
12-27-2019, 08:41 AM
#14
Race Director
https://www.carscoops.com/2019/12/yo...-electric-air/
Lucid Motors has started taking $1,000 deposits for the long-awaited all-electric Air before production kicks off late next year.
The electric carmaker first started accepting $2,500 deposits for the Air back in 2017. An email recently sent out to potential customers revealed that the deposit has been reduced to a fully-refundable $1,000. Those who did place a $2,500 deposit can request to have $1,500 refunded if they choose. These customers will retain their place at the front of the line.
A Long Time Coming: Arizona Governor Joins Lucid Motors At Site Of Arizona Factory
“We have also streamlined our reservation process: Simplifying the reservation form, adding new payment options, and updating the reservation price to $1,000,” the email reads. “As a reservation holder, you will have the opportunity to be among the first to own a Lucid Air. You can also expect invitations to special events with exclusive opportunities to experience the car. Your $1,000 reservation payment will be applied to the purchase price of your Lucid Air and is fully refundable.”
Last week, Lucid revealed a beta engineering prototype of the Air, claiming that it is 95 per cent production-representative. The prototype was built at the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley as opposed to the factory Lucid is currently building in Casa Grande, Arizona. In total, Lucid has built 80 aluminum body structures at its HQ.
Lucid’s electric vehicle plans were boosted after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to invest $1 billion into the company.
The electric carmaker first started accepting $2,500 deposits for the Air back in 2017. An email recently sent out to potential customers revealed that the deposit has been reduced to a fully-refundable $1,000. Those who did place a $2,500 deposit can request to have $1,500 refunded if they choose. These customers will retain their place at the front of the line.
A Long Time Coming: Arizona Governor Joins Lucid Motors At Site Of Arizona Factory
“We have also streamlined our reservation process: Simplifying the reservation form, adding new payment options, and updating the reservation price to $1,000,” the email reads. “As a reservation holder, you will have the opportunity to be among the first to own a Lucid Air. You can also expect invitations to special events with exclusive opportunities to experience the car. Your $1,000 reservation payment will be applied to the purchase price of your Lucid Air and is fully refundable.”
Last week, Lucid revealed a beta engineering prototype of the Air, claiming that it is 95 per cent production-representative. The prototype was built at the company’s headquarters in Silicon Valley as opposed to the factory Lucid is currently building in Casa Grande, Arizona. In total, Lucid has built 80 aluminum body structures at its HQ.
Lucid’s electric vehicle plans were boosted after Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund agreed to invest $1 billion into the company.
04-12-2020, 02:09 PM
#15
Lucid Air does test with range of 400 miles.
Lucid Air recently did a test drive in California, 800 miles with 2 charges only (one in the beginning and one in the middle) and confirms its 400 miles range.
Pretty awesome for an EV startup.
It’s funded by the Saudis too. So I will be little wary since MBS can decide to pull the plug anytime he feels it’ll threaten his oil money.
Pretty awesome for an EV startup.
It’s funded by the Saudis too. So I will be little wary since MBS can decide to pull the plug anytime he feels it’ll threaten his oil money.
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04-19-2020, 10:20 AM
#16
Lucid releases more details about its upcoming factory
There are not a lot of things more exciting for us at Electrek than seeing more electric car production capacity coming to life and that’s exactly what is happening in Arizona.Lucid released new images of its EV factory in Arizona and it’s starting to look like something.
In 2017, Lucid Motors announced an aggressive $60,000 base price for its luxury all-electric sedan, the Lucid Air, with a range of 240 miles and some other interesting specs.
At the time, Lucid also unveiled its plan for a $700 million factory in Arizona to produce the Air in 2018.
However, they had difficulties raising the capital needed to start construction of the plant.
Late in 2018, Lucid secured over $1 billion in investments from Saudi Arabia, which put them back on track for their 2017 plans.
The investment set the company up for a good 2019.
During the last year, they made a lot of progress toward the production version of their vehicle and they also made a lot of progress on building their factory in Arizona after suffering from delays over the previous two years.
Lucid aimed to unveil the production version of the Lucid Air at the New York Auto show in April and start production by the end of the year.
But the unveiling has been delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic and there have been doubts about Lucid being able to stick to its timeline for production.
Yesterday, the company unveiled two new pictures of the factory in Arizona:
For the first time, we can see a completed building – at least on the outside. The project is starting to look like a factory.
Lucid claims to be sticking to its timeline for the end of the year and CEO Peter Rawlinson recently said that “tooling and machinery for the Lucid factory in Arizona was well underway before the current crisis.”
Earlier this year, we interviewed Rawlinson, and he revealed a few new details about the production version.
He said that the Lucid Air is going to be equipped with a more than 900V system, will have up to 400 miles of real-world range, and more.
The first version of the car, which might be called Dream Edition based on the new teaser, is expected to cost over $100,000 and have up to 1,000hp.
Rawlinson told Electrek that he didn’t set out to create a 1,000hp car, but the power is a consequence of creating a long-range electric vehicle.
The CEO expects the Air to create a new standard for efficiency with 4 to 5 miles of range per kWh for a full-size luxury sedan.
https://electrek.co/2020/04/16/lucid...tory-pictures/
05-11-2020, 11:41 AM
#17
Lucid apparently has about 40 “Air” prototypes.
Lucid: "We can't wait to get back out on the road again."
Lucid Motors shared today a rare view of Lucid Air beta prototypes parked up at its headquarters in Northern California.The company already has built over 40 beta units, which normally would be circling around and clocking thousands of miles, but due to the state’s stay-at-home orders, they need to sit in the garage.
The fleet is still expanding and "dozens more" Lucid Air beta will be built for various purposes in the comprehensive testing program before the series production begins (at a new plant, under construction in Arizona).
"Normally, these vehicles would be racking up long-distance miles on the highway or circling a test track as we refine and validate the Lucid Air’s advanced engineering and game-changing performance. Beta prototypes have, for instance, endured the frozen northern reaches of Minnesota for winter testing and shuttled between San Francisco and Los Angeles on a single charge — all in preparation for production at North America’s first purpose-built EV factory in Casa Grande, AZ."
Please watch the official video in the link below.
https://insideevs.com/news/421122/lu...ototype-fleet/
05-11-2020, 02:07 PM
#18
Lucid Air recently did a test drive in California, 800 miles with 2 charges only (one in the beginning and one in the middle) and confirms its 400 miles range.
Pretty awesome for an EV startup.
It’s funded by the Saudis too. So I will be little wary since MBS can decide to pull the plug anytime he feels it’ll threaten his oil money.
Pretty awesome for an EV startup.
It’s funded by the Saudis too. So I will be little wary since MBS can decide to pull the plug anytime he feels it’ll threaten his oil money.
I guess they can't ALL fail.
05-11-2020, 07:15 PM
#19
I’m still not convinced about their intentions. Will see.
05-11-2020, 09:34 PM
#20
More Lucid air videos.
08-10-2020, 09:54 PM
#21
Here comes the real competition for Tesla Model S
https://www.businessinsider.com/luci...model-s-2020-8
Lucid Motors will officially reveal the all-important range of its debut, luxury electric sedan on Tuesday, but apparently couldn't wait to begin boasting.
In a teaser video posted to Twitter on Friday, the startup pitched the Lucid Air as "the world's longest range electric vehicle," capable of covering more than 441 miles between plug-in stops.
If Lucid can make good on that promise, its debut vehicle will not just beat, but smash the Tesla Model S's record of 402 miles. (Tesla has promised 500 miles for its Semi, though the 18-wheeler is yet to enter production.)
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, who led development of the Model S while working for Elon Musk, has said the Air will outmatch Tesla's sedan in terms of interior luxury, dash from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and start at more than $100,000.
But when it comes to battery power, range remains a key selling point for consumers wary of moving away from internal combustion. Tesla made waves in June when it announced that the Model S had achieved an EPA-rated 402-mile range on a single charge. The company broke the 400-mile benchmark by decreasing the weight of the car, making aerodynamic changes, and maximizing regenerative braking.
Lucid credits the Air's 441-mile-plus figure, in part, to a drag coefficient of 0.21, which it calls the best in the industry (the Model S clocks a 0.23). The automaker's aerodynamics team, which includes Formula 1 veterans, created a design that smooths air that usually catches along wheel wells, and uses strategically-placed air intakes.
Lucid plans to reveal the final version of the car on September 9, and to begin production near the end of the year.
Lucid Motors will officially reveal the all-important range of its debut, luxury electric sedan on Tuesday, but apparently couldn't wait to begin boasting.
In a teaser video posted to Twitter on Friday, the startup pitched the Lucid Air as "the world's longest range electric vehicle," capable of covering more than 441 miles between plug-in stops.
If Lucid can make good on that promise, its debut vehicle will not just beat, but smash the Tesla Model S's record of 402 miles. (Tesla has promised 500 miles for its Semi, though the 18-wheeler is yet to enter production.)
Lucid CEO Peter Rawlinson, who led development of the Model S while working for Elon Musk, has said the Air will outmatch Tesla's sedan in terms of interior luxury, dash from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and start at more than $100,000.
But when it comes to battery power, range remains a key selling point for consumers wary of moving away from internal combustion. Tesla made waves in June when it announced that the Model S had achieved an EPA-rated 402-mile range on a single charge. The company broke the 400-mile benchmark by decreasing the weight of the car, making aerodynamic changes, and maximizing regenerative braking.
Lucid credits the Air's 441-mile-plus figure, in part, to a drag coefficient of 0.21, which it calls the best in the industry (the Model S clocks a 0.23). The automaker's aerodynamics team, which includes Formula 1 veterans, created a design that smooths air that usually catches along wheel wells, and uses strategically-placed air intakes.
Lucid plans to reveal the final version of the car on September 9, and to begin production near the end of the year.
Last edited by Comfy; 08-10-2020 at 09:59 PM.
08-11-2020, 08:07 PM
#22
Lucid motor announces that it’s “Air” has 517 EPA miles, making it the longest range EV available in the near future. Props for a fantastic competition.
It’s really pop corn time now.
Looks like the doom of ICE age is nearer than thought.
It’s really pop corn time now.
Looks like the doom of ICE age is nearer than thought.
08-11-2020, 09:57 PM
#23
Motor trend review of Lucid Air
It's 8:09 a.m., and we're doing 66 mph on the 580 in the Bay Area, heading east from Hayward, California, when the odometer of the Lucid Air we're riding in shows we've gone 100 miles since leaving the company's headquarters at daybreak. The PR guy driving calls out, "We're at 83 percent of the battery now," and I jot this all down while in the back seat of a beta prototype of the aero-wheeled Air.
Tapping out numbers on my phone's calculator app predicts a wild 588 miles of range, so I'd better calculate it again—but it really says 588 miles.
That test provided a preview of what the EPA will later supervise and possibly certify. Like showing your work in school, Lucid even gave us a copy of FEV's results summary, which shows a raw, uncorrected range of 738 miles that gets sliced to 517 after being multiplied by the standard real-world correction factor of 0.7—the same math that famously triggered a Porsche meltdown when it caused the Taycan Turbo to drop from an estimated 287 miles to an EPA-certified 201.
If it holds up, the 517-mile figure from this big-battery version of the Air will catapult the model into the stratosphere of electric car ranges. And for the first time in Tesla's 12 years of selling cars—kicked off by the original Roadster's 220-mile rating—Musk & Co. won't be out in front on the central metric for electric cars: how far they can travel.
And it wouldn't be by a little: The gap would be 115 miles, 29 percent higher than the 402 miles recently certified for the Model S Long Range Plus. The clobbering comes at the hands of a 1,200-person team based 7 crow-flown miles from where the Model S is built, a group headed by ex-Jaguar and ex-Lotus engineering guru and original Model S chief engineer Peter Rawlinson. A pinch of extra salt in the wound? Lucid figures even its standard battery version of the Air (coming later) will cover 400 miles.
My plan going into this was to write what you're reading now during my several-hour back-seat ride (fully masked, of course). Lucid asked that I not plug in my computer and divert precious electrons, so I brought along three (!) charged laptops so I could move the unfolding story from one to the next as their own onboard batteries expired.
As in most plans, none of the expected happened. Instead, I stare out the window and chat cars with Lucid's driver (certainly more lucid than me). I also notice I still have a comfortable leg position despite the rear passenger "foot garage,"—essentially a cutout intended to increase foot room, as in the Taycan—of the standard-battery model being mostly filled here. And, of course, periodically recalculate the range.
8:49 a.m.: At 131 miles, we pause at a hot Central Valley rest stop with the battery showing 77 percent. Estimated range: 569 miles.
9:31 a.m.: At 160 miles, we are heading south in Interstate 5 traffic while showing 70 percent. 533 miles.
10:09 a.m.: We pass 200 miles at 62 percent while descending the Highway 152 grade toward the 101 freeway. New prediction: 526 miles.
We're here because Lucid is doing performance testing on Air prototypes. The series of roll-up garage doors along the track's pits frames groups of people, cars on jacks, red tire warmers keeping treads toasty, tables rowed with monitors, thick cables snaking the floor—everything from a typical test day except the sharp revving and deep burbling of combustion engines. Rawlinson takes me for a careful lap in a different, production-representative Air (the interior is beautiful) before I pull on a helmet and strap into a track-prepped version.
Each of its motors—there are two, one up front and one at the rear, both the size of a squashed volleyball—is capable of 600 horsepower, but the combination peaks at 1,000 horsepower, limited by the battery's amperage. Accelerating onto the track, the car's weight is evident by the driver's early braking for corners, but in those bends, it's stable with a touch of understeer and accelerates out with a caliber of electric cannon blast I've never felt before. After we pull in and I clamber out, I'm repeatedly leaning forward and backward until it wears off. Now, I move to ride in the next car.
Over lunch, Rawlinson expounds. What people don't understand, he says, is how critical creating your own technology is, as well as maximizing the system's efficiency—not just for this car, but the cheaper ones to follow. Tesla operates this way, but most other EV makers don't. Many of them (including those wearing the badges of prestigious European marques) create their electric cars from commodity supplier components and catalog drivetrains, meaning they're neither as advanced nor as well integrated as the Air. It's why we see so many other EVs with ranges in the 200s and 300s and hear the sound of crickets in their showrooms.
In contrast, Lucid's very-high-voltage 900-volt architecture allows the miniaturization of the drivetrain, minimizes losses, and increases the maximum charging rate past everybody else and into the 300-kW realm. That, combined with what is slated to be a production car-best 0.21 claimed coefficient of drag and modest frontal area, means Lucid was able to trim its battery pack from its original 130-kWh size. If you're wondering what its capacity is now, though, so are we; Lucid isn't providing an exact number yet.
Either way, the aforementioned aerodynamics are as penciled-through as the drivetrain, including a smaller grille opening than originally conceived, feeding the radiators via a novel vortex system. The car's slipperiness is further helped by its large-inside/small-outside packaging (aided by shrinking the drivetrain componentry) and a rear underfloor diffuser that begins to rise toward the rear bumper about 2 feet before the battery box ends. And yes, the battery is physically shaped to accommodate this. Rawlinson says the car is approaching 4 miles per kWh. Very, very efficient.
At 6:20 p.m., 450 miles and almost 12 hours after we started, we pull back up to HQ. A stubborn 7 percent of energy is displayed on the screen, predicting a range of 484 miles—that's now probably very close to reality for this trip—and we sit silently for several seconds before I concede the battery has beaten us. That's enough; we're calling it a day. I slowly climb out of the car and straighten up. Later that evening, a fresh Lucid driver took out the car again, finally ending the experiment at 490 miles. Not the FEV laboratory's 517, but 95 percent of it, every mile demonstrated in the hills and heat of the real world.
Later, in my hotel room, I poke at my takeout pad thai with a plastic fork and sip a Coke as a movie plays on the TV—but I wasn't watching because I was feeling a little deflated. I'd given up. How come?
Since the electric car's revival, low range has been rationalized by a series of excuses. Remember the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (62 miles) and the original Nissan Leaf (73 miles)? Excuse: "The average driver only travels 30 miles per day." If so, why aren't gasoline cars fitted with 7-gallon tanks, just enough for a week's worth of driving?
When I used to take our long-term Model S (then rated for 265 miles of range) on road trips, I made a habit of stopping to Supercharge in Atascadero because I had to. I got an ice cream while I waited. As range increased, the original justification morphed to, "That's as far as you'd want to go anyway before stopping for a stretch, a bathroom break, or a snack." I enjoyed the ice cream and the break, but what if I was truly in a hurry? Last year, when I drove a newer, much longer-range, and Raven-powertrain-equipped Model S from the Fremont factory to the Tesla design studio next to SpaceX in Hawthorne, I didn't stop and covered a huge 359 miles. But I personally had the energy to keep going much farther.
At the Lucid Air's demonstrated 490 miles of range, though, we have explored the limit of a human's endurance for a day's driving, our sorties and time at Laguna Seca notwithstanding. I remember sitting in the audience in 1990 when former GM chairman Roger Smith announced the EV1, and during the Q&A afterward, somebody asked, "Could it make it over the Grapevine?"—the imposing mountain pass just north of L.A. on the way to San Francisco. The engineers shuffled their feet and gave each other side glances. Thirty years later, we finally have the no-excuse electric car that likely can go farther than you can. We now need to turn our collective attention to charging speeds. The race for range is over.
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/luci...ew-range-test/
Tapping out numbers on my phone's calculator app predicts a wild 588 miles of range, so I'd better calculate it again—but it really says 588 miles.
Lucid Air: Range For Days
It's unwise to project an EV's range using the imprecise numbers from early in a trip, something Tesla's engineers have stressed to us. So the plan is to keep going all day, threading along with real-world traffic, usually at 65 mph and with the car ballasted to a normal load as the range prediction slowly comes into focus. Specifically, we want to know whether we'll see anything like the 517 miles the Ann Arbor, Michigan, arm of German engineering services company FEV (Forschungsgesellschaft für Energietechnik und Verbrennungsmotoren—with a name like that, who's going to argue with them?) recently measured for the Air during an unofficial but EPA-identical two-cycle range test.That test provided a preview of what the EPA will later supervise and possibly certify. Like showing your work in school, Lucid even gave us a copy of FEV's results summary, which shows a raw, uncorrected range of 738 miles that gets sliced to 517 after being multiplied by the standard real-world correction factor of 0.7—the same math that famously triggered a Porsche meltdown when it caused the Taycan Turbo to drop from an estimated 287 miles to an EPA-certified 201.
If it holds up, the 517-mile figure from this big-battery version of the Air will catapult the model into the stratosphere of electric car ranges. And for the first time in Tesla's 12 years of selling cars—kicked off by the original Roadster's 220-mile rating—Musk & Co. won't be out in front on the central metric for electric cars: how far they can travel.
The Lucid Air Would Beat The Tesla Model S
And it wouldn't be by a little: The gap would be 115 miles, 29 percent higher than the 402 miles recently certified for the Model S Long Range Plus. The clobbering comes at the hands of a 1,200-person team based 7 crow-flown miles from where the Model S is built, a group headed by ex-Jaguar and ex-Lotus engineering guru and original Model S chief engineer Peter Rawlinson. A pinch of extra salt in the wound? Lucid figures even its standard battery version of the Air (coming later) will cover 400 miles.
My plan going into this was to write what you're reading now during my several-hour back-seat ride (fully masked, of course). Lucid asked that I not plug in my computer and divert precious electrons, so I brought along three (!) charged laptops so I could move the unfolding story from one to the next as their own onboard batteries expired.
As in most plans, none of the expected happened. Instead, I stare out the window and chat cars with Lucid's driver (certainly more lucid than me). I also notice I still have a comfortable leg position despite the rear passenger "foot garage,"—essentially a cutout intended to increase foot room, as in the Taycan—of the standard-battery model being mostly filled here. And, of course, periodically recalculate the range.
8:49 a.m.: At 131 miles, we pause at a hot Central Valley rest stop with the battery showing 77 percent. Estimated range: 569 miles.
9:31 a.m.: At 160 miles, we are heading south in Interstate 5 traffic while showing 70 percent. 533 miles.
10:09 a.m.: We pass 200 miles at 62 percent while descending the Highway 152 grade toward the 101 freeway. New prediction: 526 miles.
Hitting The Track In The Lucid Air
Our lunch stop is a familiar MotorTrend venue: WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, where the car is parked in plain view and beyond the reach of any cheating charging plugs. Notably, a Model S being used as a chase vehicle was plugged in nearby.We're here because Lucid is doing performance testing on Air prototypes. The series of roll-up garage doors along the track's pits frames groups of people, cars on jacks, red tire warmers keeping treads toasty, tables rowed with monitors, thick cables snaking the floor—everything from a typical test day except the sharp revving and deep burbling of combustion engines. Rawlinson takes me for a careful lap in a different, production-representative Air (the interior is beautiful) before I pull on a helmet and strap into a track-prepped version.
Each of its motors—there are two, one up front and one at the rear, both the size of a squashed volleyball—is capable of 600 horsepower, but the combination peaks at 1,000 horsepower, limited by the battery's amperage. Accelerating onto the track, the car's weight is evident by the driver's early braking for corners, but in those bends, it's stable with a touch of understeer and accelerates out with a caliber of electric cannon blast I've never felt before. After we pull in and I clamber out, I'm repeatedly leaning forward and backward until it wears off. Now, I move to ride in the next car.
Just Wait Until The Mega Air Arrives
Next car? Yep—and, wow, do I wish I could give more details about this one. But let's just call it Lucid's "track-development" car and let your imagination chew on that for a few weeks. Here, again, we experience the same premature braking, earlier than I'm accustomed to in lighter, piston-powered cars, followed by the same mild understeer. But if I called the acceleration of the normal Air a cannon blast, this one's on afterburner; on the second lap, I expect to see the tarmac after apexes bunched up like a throw carpet after your greyhound sees a rabbit through the window. Getting out, I'm staggering a step forward and then a step backward, tipsy on longitudinal g's. I am told the car's impressive lap time but am sworn to secrecy.Over lunch, Rawlinson expounds. What people don't understand, he says, is how critical creating your own technology is, as well as maximizing the system's efficiency—not just for this car, but the cheaper ones to follow. Tesla operates this way, but most other EV makers don't. Many of them (including those wearing the badges of prestigious European marques) create their electric cars from commodity supplier components and catalog drivetrains, meaning they're neither as advanced nor as well integrated as the Air. It's why we see so many other EVs with ranges in the 200s and 300s and hear the sound of crickets in their showrooms.
In contrast, Lucid's very-high-voltage 900-volt architecture allows the miniaturization of the drivetrain, minimizes losses, and increases the maximum charging rate past everybody else and into the 300-kW realm. That, combined with what is slated to be a production car-best 0.21 claimed coefficient of drag and modest frontal area, means Lucid was able to trim its battery pack from its original 130-kWh size. If you're wondering what its capacity is now, though, so are we; Lucid isn't providing an exact number yet.
Either way, the aforementioned aerodynamics are as penciled-through as the drivetrain, including a smaller grille opening than originally conceived, feeding the radiators via a novel vortex system. The car's slipperiness is further helped by its large-inside/small-outside packaging (aided by shrinking the drivetrain componentry) and a rear underfloor diffuser that begins to rise toward the rear bumper about 2 feet before the battery box ends. And yes, the battery is physically shaped to accommodate this. Rawlinson says the car is approaching 4 miles per kWh. Very, very efficient.
Lucid Air Range Test: Continued
Back on the road and heading north, we pass a milestone: 402 miles, or the highest rated range for which a Tesla model is certified. At this point, the Air's battery reads 16 percent remaining, and the range prediction has now dipped to 478 miles. An hour and a half later, we roll into Lucid HQ for a coffee, a stretch, and a shake of our foggy heads, then crawl back in and head out again. We cut west across the Dumbarton Bridge to lap up and down the 101 as it arteries along San Francisco Bay's east side, increasingly reddening on the traffic map. The day is starting its reverse transition to twilight, and we're experiencing range anxiety of the opposite type: Instead of worrying about running out of juice, we're getting anxious that we'll never stop driving.At 6:20 p.m., 450 miles and almost 12 hours after we started, we pull back up to HQ. A stubborn 7 percent of energy is displayed on the screen, predicting a range of 484 miles—that's now probably very close to reality for this trip—and we sit silently for several seconds before I concede the battery has beaten us. That's enough; we're calling it a day. I slowly climb out of the car and straighten up. Later that evening, a fresh Lucid driver took out the car again, finally ending the experiment at 490 miles. Not the FEV laboratory's 517, but 95 percent of it, every mile demonstrated in the hills and heat of the real world.
Later, in my hotel room, I poke at my takeout pad thai with a plastic fork and sip a Coke as a movie plays on the TV—but I wasn't watching because I was feeling a little deflated. I'd given up. How come?
Since the electric car's revival, low range has been rationalized by a series of excuses. Remember the Mitsubishi i-MiEV (62 miles) and the original Nissan Leaf (73 miles)? Excuse: "The average driver only travels 30 miles per day." If so, why aren't gasoline cars fitted with 7-gallon tanks, just enough for a week's worth of driving?
When I used to take our long-term Model S (then rated for 265 miles of range) on road trips, I made a habit of stopping to Supercharge in Atascadero because I had to. I got an ice cream while I waited. As range increased, the original justification morphed to, "That's as far as you'd want to go anyway before stopping for a stretch, a bathroom break, or a snack." I enjoyed the ice cream and the break, but what if I was truly in a hurry? Last year, when I drove a newer, much longer-range, and Raven-powertrain-equipped Model S from the Fremont factory to the Tesla design studio next to SpaceX in Hawthorne, I didn't stop and covered a huge 359 miles. But I personally had the energy to keep going much farther.
At the Lucid Air's demonstrated 490 miles of range, though, we have explored the limit of a human's endurance for a day's driving, our sorties and time at Laguna Seca notwithstanding. I remember sitting in the audience in 1990 when former GM chairman Roger Smith announced the EV1, and during the Q&A afterward, somebody asked, "Could it make it over the Grapevine?"—the imposing mountain pass just north of L.A. on the way to San Francisco. The engineers shuffled their feet and gave each other side glances. Thirty years later, we finally have the no-excuse electric car that likely can go farther than you can. We now need to turn our collective attention to charging speeds. The race for range is over.
https://www.motortrend.com/cars/luci...ew-range-test/
Last edited by Comfy; 08-11-2020 at 10:02 PM.
08-13-2020, 12:05 AM
#24
Sanest Florida Man
In a recent interview Elon mentioned how they could make a 500 mile car today if they wanted to by throwing in a bigger battery but that'd sacrifice cargo space, weight, and cost. I'm sure this vehicle will cost almost twice as much. But if they can get similar efficiency as the S that'd be impressive
08-13-2020, 06:42 AM
#25
From what I read so far, they put in a 130 KWH battery, but the Air looks like a bigger car and is more aerodynamic, giving it that impressive range. Of course Peter Rawlingson worked primarily on Model S, so he would know most of its secrets anyway.
I can only imagine the board room meeting happening in Tesla before his departure.
Elon Musk: So how’s the Model S progressing?
Rawlingson: It’s working good. But I think we need to do more.
EM: In what way?
PR: We need to make it bigger car which is more luxurious and truly competitive to Mercedes S
EM: But it’ll cost much more, that’s insane.
PR: we can charge customers more, if the product is good, people will pay
EM: We need to make is more efficient and cheaper to produce so that it can be competitive in market.
PR: we need to make it more luxurious and powerful
EM: S is already more powerful and has best performance specs
PR: but it looks cheap and feels budget inside,
EM: anything more luxurious will cost more and will not sell
PR: then we need a second product so that we can sell both models
EM: we only have plans and budget for one
PR: This is not acceptable to me
EM: what are you proposing?
PR: (thinking)...... may be it’ll not work out
EM: yeah, your lux car, right...?
PR: No my future in Tesla
EM: hmmmmm, May we should go separate ways
PR: I think so too.
meeting ends abruptly
.
I can only imagine the board room meeting happening in Tesla before his departure.
Elon Musk: So how’s the Model S progressing?
Rawlingson: It’s working good. But I think we need to do more.
EM: In what way?
PR: We need to make it bigger car which is more luxurious and truly competitive to Mercedes S
EM: But it’ll cost much more, that’s insane.
PR: we can charge customers more, if the product is good, people will pay
EM: We need to make is more efficient and cheaper to produce so that it can be competitive in market.
PR: we need to make it more luxurious and powerful
EM: S is already more powerful and has best performance specs
PR: but it looks cheap and feels budget inside,
EM: anything more luxurious will cost more and will not sell
PR: then we need a second product so that we can sell both models
EM: we only have plans and budget for one
PR: This is not acceptable to me
EM: what are you proposing?
PR: (thinking)...... may be it’ll not work out
EM: yeah, your lux car, right...?
PR: No my future in Tesla
EM: hmmmmm, May we should go separate ways
PR: I think so too.
meeting ends abruptly
.Last edited by Comfy; 08-13-2020 at 06:44 AM.
08-13-2020, 10:02 AM
#26
Sanest Florida Man
I'd imagine if Tesla brought the octavalve from the Model Y to the S that'd improve its efficiency by a similar 10% and that'd boost it's range to 430-445 miles while still using the 100kwh battery. If they get the rumored 25% energy density increase from the Maxwell tech they could make a 125kwh battery that costs the same or less than the current 100kwh and those changes would push the S to around 550mi. Sept is going to be a big month.
Is there a release date for the Lucid?
Is there a release date for the Lucid?
08-13-2020, 10:55 AM
#27
I'd imagine if Tesla brought the octavalve from the Model Y to the S that'd improve its efficiency by a similar 10% and that'd boost it's range to 430-445 miles while still using the 100kwh battery. If they get the rumored 25% energy density increase from the Maxwell tech they could make a 125kwh battery that costs the same or less than the current 100kwh and those changes would push the S to around 550mi. Sept is going to be a big month.
Is there a release date for the Lucid?
Is there a release date for the Lucid?
08-26-2020, 12:33 PM
#28
Sanest Florida Man
Lucid reveals its insane 500-mile range is achieved on 113 kWh battery pack
Wow, very impressive.
Lucid Motors has revealed that its insane 500-mile range is achieved on a 113 kWh battery pack — showing its efficiency expertise.
Lucid Motors is preparing to launch its highly-anticipated Air electric sedan next month.
The electric car has been in the works for years, and it is getting a lot of hype lately thanks to the third-party test results of the EPA range test putting the luxury sedan’s range at 517 miles on a single charge.
Originally, Lucid was planning a 130 kWh battery pack for its first electric car, but when announcing the range test, it confirmed that it managed to achieve the record range with a smaller battery pack as it focused on efficiency.
Now Lucid unveiled its Lucid Air’s “Space-Concept” platform design and confirmed that the battery pack has a 113 kWh capacity:
“This achievement reflects a revolutionary and innovative approach to automotive layout and engineering packaging called the Lucid Space Concept, which capitalizes upon the miniaturization of Lucid’s in-house developed EV drivetrain and battery pack to optimize interior cabin space within Lucid Air’s relatively compact exterior footprint. This extends the philosophy of hyper-efficiency embedded in every facet of Lucid Air from energy efficiency to spatial efficiency, delivering an unprecedented combination of range, practicality, performance, and comfort.”
They released this picture of the vehicle platform:
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors, commented on the design:
“It’s relatively easy to achieve more range by adding progressively more batteries, but gaining ‘dumb range’ that way increases weight and cost, and reduces interior space. Lucid Air has achieved its remarkable range whilst also reducing battery size through its in-house technology, resulting in a breakthrough in overall vehicle-level efficiency.”
Rawlinson added:
“By pursuing this ‘smart range’ approach, Lucid shall not only be able to offer the Air with this unprecedented absolute range, but also offer future models that achieve competitive range from proportionately smaller battery packs, thereby saving cost, weight, and space. Lucid’s breakthrough is not merely just a few percent; we are talking about a significant improvement, which I shall cover further on September 9th. This represents a true breakthrough and what excites me the most for the future and for Lucid’s role in advancing electrification and sustainable mobility,”
Along with the release today, Lucid confirmed some impressive cargo capacity in the Air electric sedan:
“In addition to unprecedented interior passenger space for its compact exterior footprint, the Lucid Air also features the largest frunk ever offered in a production EV, with a capacity of over 280 liters, which is 89 percent larger than the current leader in the Lucid Air’s vehicle class and 40 percent larger than the current EV leader in the SUV class. In combination with its trunk, Lucid Air offers a total of 739 liters of luggage space, best in class for both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles by some margin.”
Lucid Air is going to be unveiled on September 9, 2020, and the company is going to confirm the remaining details along with final pricing information.
We might have a new king of efficiency.
517 miles of range on a 113 kWh battery pack is 4.58 miles of range per kWh.
In comparison, Tesla Model S, potentially the closest competitor to the Lucid Air, is getting 4.02 miles per kWh.
I expect the Lucid Air to be more expensive than the Model S and I also expect Tesla to improve the Model S with the Palladium version by the time the Air hits the market, but either way, Lucid is proving to have made some important improvements in EV efficiency and that’s good for the industry.
Lucid Motors is preparing to launch its highly-anticipated Air electric sedan next month.
The electric car has been in the works for years, and it is getting a lot of hype lately thanks to the third-party test results of the EPA range test putting the luxury sedan’s range at 517 miles on a single charge.
Originally, Lucid was planning a 130 kWh battery pack for its first electric car, but when announcing the range test, it confirmed that it managed to achieve the record range with a smaller battery pack as it focused on efficiency.
Now Lucid unveiled its Lucid Air’s “Space-Concept” platform design and confirmed that the battery pack has a 113 kWh capacity:
“This achievement reflects a revolutionary and innovative approach to automotive layout and engineering packaging called the Lucid Space Concept, which capitalizes upon the miniaturization of Lucid’s in-house developed EV drivetrain and battery pack to optimize interior cabin space within Lucid Air’s relatively compact exterior footprint. This extends the philosophy of hyper-efficiency embedded in every facet of Lucid Air from energy efficiency to spatial efficiency, delivering an unprecedented combination of range, practicality, performance, and comfort.”
They released this picture of the vehicle platform:
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors, commented on the design:
“It’s relatively easy to achieve more range by adding progressively more batteries, but gaining ‘dumb range’ that way increases weight and cost, and reduces interior space. Lucid Air has achieved its remarkable range whilst also reducing battery size through its in-house technology, resulting in a breakthrough in overall vehicle-level efficiency.”
Rawlinson added:
“By pursuing this ‘smart range’ approach, Lucid shall not only be able to offer the Air with this unprecedented absolute range, but also offer future models that achieve competitive range from proportionately smaller battery packs, thereby saving cost, weight, and space. Lucid’s breakthrough is not merely just a few percent; we are talking about a significant improvement, which I shall cover further on September 9th. This represents a true breakthrough and what excites me the most for the future and for Lucid’s role in advancing electrification and sustainable mobility,”
Along with the release today, Lucid confirmed some impressive cargo capacity in the Air electric sedan:
“In addition to unprecedented interior passenger space for its compact exterior footprint, the Lucid Air also features the largest frunk ever offered in a production EV, with a capacity of over 280 liters, which is 89 percent larger than the current leader in the Lucid Air’s vehicle class and 40 percent larger than the current EV leader in the SUV class. In combination with its trunk, Lucid Air offers a total of 739 liters of luggage space, best in class for both electric and internal combustion engine vehicles by some margin.”
Lucid Air is going to be unveiled on September 9, 2020, and the company is going to confirm the remaining details along with final pricing information.
Electrek’s Take
We might have a new king of efficiency.
517 miles of range on a 113 kWh battery pack is 4.58 miles of range per kWh.
In comparison, Tesla Model S, potentially the closest competitor to the Lucid Air, is getting 4.02 miles per kWh.
I expect the Lucid Air to be more expensive than the Model S and I also expect Tesla to improve the Model S with the Palladium version by the time the Air hits the market, but either way, Lucid is proving to have made some important improvements in EV efficiency and that’s good for the industry.
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Comfy (08-26-2020)
08-26-2020, 04:55 PM
#29
Amazing. Tesla has its work cut out. When is Lucid releasing its IPO?
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Comfy (08-28-2020)
08-30-2020, 11:58 PM
#31
Sanest Florida Man
Been thinking about this more. The Model S isn’t the most efficient Tesla, that’s actually the Model 3 LR RWD. It’s efficiency is at least 4.45mi/kWh. That’s without the heat pump tech that came out with the model Y which improves efficiency by about 10%. If it were to have that it’d get about 367mi range on a 75kwh battery which is 4.89mi/kWh.
The Lucid Air is 4.58mi/kWh
The Lucid Air is 4.58mi/kWh
08-31-2020, 11:24 AM
#32
A-TSX Oldie
Been thinking about this more. The Model S isn’t the most efficient Tesla, that’s actually the Model 3 LR RWD. It’s efficiency is at least 4.45mi/kWh. That’s without the heat pump tech that came out with the model Y which improves efficiency by about 10%. If it were to have that it’d get about 367mi range on a 75kwh battery which is 4.89mi/kWh.
The Lucid Air is 4.58mi/kWh
The Lucid Air is 4.58mi/kWh
08-31-2020, 02:47 PM
#33
Sanest Florida Man
The benefit appears in the EPA range numbers. EPA got 316mi range during their test of the Y, and 322mi with the 3, even though the Y is bigger and heavier it's range is almost identical. If the Y get's 316mi during cold weather than their range would be much higher during moderate temps.
08-31-2020, 03:41 PM
#34
A-TSX Oldie
The benefit appears in the EPA range numbers. EPA got 316mi range during their test of the Y, and 322mi with the 3, even though the Y is bigger and heavier it's range is almost identical. If the Y get's 316mi during cold weather than their range would be much higher during moderate temps.
"Real world" ranges vary wildly out there, but none of them are close to the EPA figures. A quick google search shows the difference in real world ranges between the dual-motor 3 and Y are way more than the 6 miles or so that the EPA claims though.
Bringing the heat pump to the model 3 will just improve its winter range (which is absolutely needed, for sure), but it won't do jack squat to its overall efficiency. In fact, adding the heat pump might actually add more weight to the model 3, if nothing else changes.
09-02-2020, 02:03 PM
#35
Lucid Air beats Model S in performance
Sub-10-Second Lucid Air Stomps Tesla Model S in the Quarter-Mile
So the Air is not only more spacious, luxurious, efficient, has significantly more range, but it is now faster than a Model S as well. It looks like S has finally met its match, unless the plaid S trounces the Air somehow. All we need to know is the price and whether all of these attributes are available in the same model Air?
https://www.motortrend.com/news/2021...ev-powertrain/
09-02-2020, 08:19 PM
#36
Sanest Florida Man
Taycan
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Comfy (09-02-2020)
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Comfy (09-02-2020)
09-03-2020, 08:15 AM
#38
Moderator
Thread Starter
09-03-2020, 08:22 AM
#39
Not sure if I understand that but if Lucid does not continue to do a superior job of design, engineering, efficient manufacture and effective marketing, it will not sell.
Last edited by Acure4RDX; 09-03-2020 at 08:24 AM.
09-03-2020, 08:27 AM
#40
Moderator
Thread Starter
I meant that the Taycan, because it's a Porsche, will still sell, no matter the specs on the Lucid/Tesla/etc. Brand loyalty, and an arguably more attractive aesthetic.