The CEO of Saudi-backed Lucid Motors Peter Rawlinson has taken the electric vehicle start-up’s Lucid Air for a spin, giving a first insight into what the actual driving experience of the sleek EV might bring.
And the verdict? Naturallytm he is effusive. Very effusive: It’s a “complete machine”, Rawlinson says, adding that he’s never driven anything like it before.
“I wanted this volt-like experience from an electric car that no one’s really perfected yet and this is the basis for it,” he says in the video showing him evaluating the vehicle’s dynamics that Lucid Motors shared on Friday via Twitter.
“It’s a shattering performance, compact and agile – this car’s as much a sports cars as a sedan,” he says.
This is just as well – as chief engineer for the Tesla Model S, one would hope that the Lucid Air, pegged as a rival to the Model S, is giving the Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund some bang for its buck.
The Lucid Air was officially unveiled in September 2020 to a great deal of fanfare. It was the first electric vehicle to be revealed with a longer driving range than the Model S Long Range, and will according to the EV maker also come with semi-autonomous driving capabilities.
With a starting price of $US80,000 ($A102,500 converted), it ups the ante and also offers two-way and ultra-fast charging.
Slated for first deliveries in the second quarter of 2021 in the Grand Touring edition, the test vehicle in question today is a “release candidate,” which is the last step before making production vehicles for customers, and was made at the company’s AMP-1 factory in Arizona.
Heading out of San Francisco to the windy hills westward, Rawlinson says the first thing that strikes him is the pleasing blend of regenerative braking.
“I’m impressed by the blend of regen as it is coming in by the traffic lines there,” adding that the Lucid team “recently upped the regen from point 0.25G to point 3 in the sports setting which I personally prefer,” and that the ride quality is “fantastic” since the team “dialled down a lot of the pitch sensitivity.”
On “terribly testing surfaces,” Rawlinson says there is “great body control” and “exceptional body stiffness,” that dampens down the judder on jittery surfaces.
While the Lucid Motors CEO is clearly pleased with the pre-release vehicle, he notes that “we need to work on the software modulation of the torque” but adds that he thinks the suspension team have done a fantastic job.
“I’m pleased with the whole ride quality and suppleness of the suspension,” he says. “Turning responses are phenomenal.”
“It’s a complete machine, unlike every other I’ve ever driven, it really is. It’s taking it to a whole new level,” says Rawlinson.
Perfecting the product. CEO Peter Rawlinson takes an Arizona-built #LucidAir release candidate vehicle for a test drive through California’s Bay Area – the perfect proving ground for experiencing vehicle dynamics. Hear his candid reactions. pic.twitter.com/NYy91TRo9g
— Lucid Motors (@LucidMotors) March 11, 2021
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.