The 2021 Lucid Air Set to Challenge Tesla’s EV Supremacy

For several years now, Tesla has been the main voice of authority when it comes to luxury electric cars. Their style, range and brand appeal have won them great acclaim. It seems, however, that the year 2020 will finally bring a long-awaited rival into the mix --- the Lucid Air.

Among Lucid’s top executive team sit a number of former Tesla employees, such as Peter Rawlinson, formerly Tesla’s engineering VP. Their first EV development journey began back in 2014 and heated up when they first unveiled the Lucid Air back in December 2016. Since then, it had undergone further development and we now understand it ready to start production some time in 2020. We also know that the official unveiling of the Lucid Air production model is set for September 9, 2020.

What should drivers expect? Perhaps the greatest headline is the Lucid Air’s amazing range. It promises the ability to go 517 miles (832km) on a single charge. That’s a whole 17 percent more than the much-touted mileage of the Tesla Model S. If it was Tesla that made the luxury EV viable, then Lucid are making it positively ideal.

In terms of features, we know already that the Lucid Air will feature a 113kWh battery pack fixed to a skateboard platform. We are told that this powertrain will deliver an amazing 0-60mph time of just 2.5 seconds. This once again trumps the Tesla Model S Long Range, which boasts 0-60 in 3.5 seconds. That’s impressive in itself, but to reduce it by a full second is quite the feat. In addition, the Lucid Air is reported to have an amazing top speed of 198mph (320kmh)

Unfortunately, not much more detail than that has been confirmed by Lucid so far, but we won’t have to wait much longer. As mentioned above, the full rundown is due on September 9, 2020. From the few photos that have been released, we can see a very sleek and aerodynamic exterior design. The edges appear to have chrome or otherwise metallic finishes, crowned with the full smiling Lucid-badged curved marking the front end. There also appear to be large spoked alloys, and extremely slimline front and rear lights.

The single interior shot that we have appears to show an almost space-age design, with sport seats, a fully digital instrument cluster, and two central display screens, one above the other. When it comes to charging the Air, we know that Lucid have partnered up with Electrify America and the car will be fully compatible with their network. Apparently, if you plug the Lucid Air into the network’s 350kW supply, then you’ll be able to add 300 miles back to your range in an eye-watering 20 minutes.

Whichever way you look at it, the Lucid Air is shaping up to be a game changer. Once more, the world seems to take a big step closer to putting EVs firmly into the mainstream.