Watch Lucid Air EV drive 400 miles on a charge, twice

We just got news yesterday that the launch of the Lucid Air luxury electric car would be delayed, understandably, due to the coronavirus outbreak, which is a shame, because this is one we’re really excited to see come to fruition. Before California went on lockdown, the folks at Lucid Motors had the opportunity to do some range testing of the Air EV on public roads. To do so, they took the Air on a road trip from Lucid’s headquarters in Newark, California, on the San Francisco Bay down the coast to Los Angeles and back up to San Francisco. The goal was to do each 400-mile leg of the trip on a single charge. They brought along cameras to record the feat. 

As you can see, the trip was successful, and a Lucid spokesperson tells us it “was the first of dozens of trips that occurred in February and into early March” as the team worked to make make longer range possible through vehicle efficiency “rather than ever-larger battery packs.”

Back in February, Lucid teased the Dream Edition of the upcoming Lucid Air — a first-edition medal that was supposed to be revealed at the 2020 New York Auto Show — and the company has been taking $1,000 deposits for the car since December. The standard Lucid with a 100-kWh battery and 300-mile range is said to start at around $60,000 before incentive. A loaded model with the larger 130-kWh battery good for 400 miles of range will cost more than $100,000, which is the battery capacity we expect we’re seeing in the above video. That flagship trim could deliver roughly 1,000 horsepower, do 0-60 in 2.5 seconds, and have a top speed beyond 200 mph. If you’re curious what the Air looks like at 235 mph, Lucid shared video of that high-speed testing back in 2017. Pretty impressive.

For now, range tests are on hold, but we’re told, “Lucid’s engineers continue to collaborate remotely until they can safely return to work, and they look forward to the continuation of this process.” Let’s hope that’s soon.

Related Video: