When 217 miles per hour isn’t fast enough you go back to the drawing board if you’re Lucid Motors.
With the software limit removed, Lucid was able to get its Air to top out at an absolutely astonishing speed of 235 miles per hour. That sort of max speed is virtually unheard in the electric car world. In fact, only a handful of “production” gas cars can reach speeds of over 230 miles per hour.
After completing the other planned tests, the team was ready to run the oval. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. When the team awoke at 5am, it was pouring rain, hardly ideal for a top speed test. The run was nearly cancelled, but once everybody arrived at the track, the rain had stopped, the sun had emerged, and the track was drying rapidly with some help from TRC’s jet dryer truck.
At 11 am, our driver set off on his flying lap. It was clear to the spotters standing hundreds of meters away that the car was moving faster coming off the banking than during the last test. And they were right. This time the Air came off the banking at 215 mph and reached an ultimate GPS confirmed speed of 235.44 mph.
The Air Alpha prototype performed beautifully. The car was perfectly stable in corners and on the straight, which is illustrated by the driver’s slow and steady inputs that can be seen in the accompanying video. The software update to the air suspension performed as expected and responded appropriately during cornering. The thermal levels of the powertrain, including the front motor, stayed within specification throughout the run.
235.44 mph. While it may be the top speed achievable on that day, with those conditions, and at this stage of development for the Alpha Speed Car, it is not the final production top speed for the Lucid Air. What it does represent, however, is further proof that the Lucid Air is a vehicle without compromise, one that offers incredible performance and dynamics, yet still offers remarkable space and comfort for a sublime luxury experience.
The Lucid Team would like to thank the world-class staff of the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in Ohio for their support and flexibility during our hectic testing schedule. We would also like to thank Pirelli for their generous support as we explore the limits of passenger-car tires.
When 217 miles per hour isn’t fast enough you go back to the drawing board if you’re Lucid Motors.
With the software limit removed, Lucid was able to get its Air to top out at an absolutely astonishing speed of 235 miles per hour. That sort of max speed is virtually unheard in the electric car world. In fact, only a handful of “production” gas cars can reach speeds of over 230 miles per hour.
After completing the other planned tests, the team was ready to run the oval. However, Mother Nature had other ideas. When the team awoke at 5am, it was pouring rain, hardly ideal for a top speed test. The run was nearly cancelled, but once everybody arrived at the track, the rain had stopped, the sun had emerged, and the track was drying rapidly with some help from TRC’s jet dryer truck.
At 11 am, our driver set off on his flying lap. It was clear to the spotters standing hundreds of meters away that the car was moving faster coming off the banking than during the last test. And they were right. This time the Air came off the banking at 215 mph and reached an ultimate GPS confirmed speed of 235.44 mph.
The Air Alpha prototype performed beautifully. The car was perfectly stable in corners and on the straight, which is illustrated by the driver’s slow and steady inputs that can be seen in the accompanying video. The software update to the air suspension performed as expected and responded appropriately during cornering. The thermal levels of the powertrain, including the front motor, stayed within specification throughout the run.
235.44 mph. While it may be the top speed achievable on that day, with those conditions, and at this stage of development for the Alpha Speed Car, it is not the final production top speed for the Lucid Air. What it does represent, however, is further proof that the Lucid Air is a vehicle without compromise, one that offers incredible performance and dynamics, yet still offers remarkable space and comfort for a sublime luxury experience.
The Lucid Team would like to thank the world-class staff of the Transportation Research Center (TRC) in Ohio for their support and flexibility during our hectic testing schedule. We would also like to thank Pirelli for their generous support as we explore the limits of passenger-car tires.
