Lucid Air is probably my favorite EV right now, with unique styling, great driving dynamics and a great interior design. Top-of-the-line Grand Touring performance is no slouch either, with more than 1,000 horsepower and a 0-60 time in the 2.6-second range. Of course, that 0-60 time is slower Tesla Model S Plaid is significantly cheaper, and people like to talk nonsense. So To silence the haters, Lucid is pulling all the stops with the Lucid Air Sapphire, debuting today at Monterey Car Week with three engines, 1,200 hp and a claimed 0-60 time. “under 2 seconds”.
Sapphire is a brand new device geared towards performance sub-brands for Lucid – like AMG in Mercedes or M in BMW. The Air Sapphire was the first car to wear the badge. But Lucid isn’t exactly making thousands of cars right now, so why put in significant effort to launch a performance sub-brand, and why Sapphire?
Derek Jenkins, senior vice president of brand and dauthorized Lucid, in a statement. “Sapphire is one of the most valuable gemstones, prized for its brightness, color and hardness. Imperial Blue has long been the de facto national color for American motorsport teams participating in international competitions. As Lucid’s dedicated ultra-high performance brand, Sapphire references this history while setting new standards for innovation and technology.”
Okay, that explains part of it. So what does Sapphire mean from a technology perspective? The big item is a third electric motor (one for each rear wheel, plus a third for front-wheel drive), bringing the total capacity to about 1,200 horsepower. BILLIONhe’s also Sapphire get more honkin’ carbon-Ceramic brake as standard, along with stiffer springs and bushings, adaptively updated install damper, along with edit settings for ABS, traction control and power steering. Finally, it has larger wheels and tires, comes with a Michelin PS4S sized 265/35R-20 in front and 295/30R-21 in the back. Serious stuff!
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Lucid is also quick to point out in its press release that, unlike some of the competition, the Sapphire will not need any kind of paid upgrades or preconditioning to do its sub-two-second launches. This is obviously a dig at Tesla, which nickel-and-dimes customers via after buying online performance upgrade.
All of this sounds rad, right? I know I’d be happy to get some time in there. Of course, that leaves two big questions: how much will it cost and when will it be on the market? The answer to the previous answer will require you to take a seat and prepare yourself – that’s $249,000. As for Monday, orders will open on Tuesday, August 23 at 9 a.m. Pacific Time, with deliveries slated to begin sometime in 2023.
