An electric car that defeated Tesla; Meet Lucid Air

By Rahul Vaimal, Associate Editor
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Lucid Air
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US-based electric car manufacturer Lucid Motors has crushed market leader Tesla Inc in one of the most important specification for an all-electric car. Range.

The automaker which is backed by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund has revealed that its luxury sedan Lucid Air has achieved 517 miles (832 kilometers) on a single charge, verified by an independent firm, FEV North America, Inc., which conducted the test in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

In the process, Lucid Air smashed the previous record of 402 miles set by Tesla Model S.

Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson said that his car is also expected to beat Tesla’s quality of the interior and acceleration of 0 to 60 mph within 2.5 seconds. He also insisted that the company’s battery technology is a critical component of achieving the range. But it’s not the only one.

Earlier in July, Mr. Rawlinson had said that “We’re creating a car which is going to be the best car in the world. “People are going to want it.”

During its initial reveal of an alpha prototype of the Air in early 2017, the manufacturer had promised more than 400 miles of range.  Peter Rawlinson said the company has made a series of technological breakthroughs that have allowed it to achieve an estimated EPA 517 miles of range while reducing the battery pack’s capacity.

The credits the Air’s 500-mile-plus figure, in part, to a drag coefficient of 0.21, which it calls the best in the industry.

Lucid plans to reveal the final version of the car on September 9, and to begin production near the end of the year. Customer deliveries will begin in early 2021.

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