2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance First Look: Preying On Plaid?
Consider this electric super sedan a slightly less vivid, more expensive Dream.
Sad you didn't jump on the Lucid Air bandwagon quite quickly enough to nab one of the limited-edition Dream P models with 1,111 horsepower? Fuming that you can't cash it in now on eBay for way over $200K? Well, dry your tears and get your ordering fingers ready, because Lucid just announced the very next best thing: The Air Grand Touring Performance model, which produces just 61 horses shy of that Dream P's four-fingers figure and therefore may harbor similar upside pricing potential.
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What Is a Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance Edition?
Mostly it's a way to richen Lucid's mix in these times of production-capacity constraints, now that all 520 of the original Dream Editions have been spoken for, and it shares most of the Dream's feature content (glass roof, DreamDrive Pro advanced driver-assist system, 21-speaker Surreal Sound system, micro-array headlamps, massaging seats, soft-close doors, 900-volt ultra-fast charging system, etc. ).
There is a new five-spoke 21-inch wheel design unique to the Grand Touring Performance, but mostly it's the power and torque that change. The front and rear motors are detuned slightly from the Dream P's 1,111 hp and 1,025 lb-ft to "just" 1,050 ponies and 921 lb-ft. That's up from the regular Grand Touring's 819 hp and 885 lb-ft of torque (that power represents a modest increase from the 800 figure originally quoted when the Air was named our 2022 Car of the Year).
How Fast is the 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance?
Top speed is quoted at 168 mph, but you probably care more about how quick the new Air is. Lucid claims the 0-to-60-mph sprint should only take 2.6 seconds—a scant tenth in arrears of the Dream P's claimed time and 0.4 second ahead of the 3.0-seconds-flat we measured (and Lucid claims) for the basic Grand Touring model. And, yes, that figure trails behind the Tesla Model S Plaid's crazed 2.07-second performance on an unprepped surface.
How Does the Range Compare?
EPA range for the new Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance model comes in at 446 miles—446miles. That's down from the 451 the Dream Edition P claim, and the regular Grand Touring's 469 miles (on 21-inch tires—19s are available, which boost that figure to 516 miles). But if you can plot a route past a few 350-kW DC fast-charging stations, these 900-volt Lucids can add 300 miles of range in 21 minutes. And no current Tesla Model S can touch even this lower-range Lucid Air's range figure, so while the Performance model might not keep up with a Plaid at the track, it'll cruise right past one on its way to the next charger.
When Can I Get the Grand Touring Performance, and For How Much?
Deliveries in the U.S. start this June (Canadians must wait until August), and the price is $180,500. That's ten Gs above the original Dream Edition P's opening gambit, but you've surely heard about automotive price inflation. Now you've just gotta pick a color, and there are four to choose: Stellar White, Infinite Black, Cosmos Silver, Quantum Grey, and Zenith (resale?) Red.
I started critiquing cars at age 5 by bumming rides home from church in other parishioners’ new cars. At 16 I started running parts for an Oldsmobile dealership and got hooked on the car biz. Engineering seemed the best way to make a living in it, so with two mechanical engineering degrees I joined Chrysler to work on the Neon, LH cars, and 2nd-gen minivans. Then a friend mentioned an opening for a technical editor at another car magazine, and I did the car-biz equivalent of running off to join the circus. I loved that job too until the phone rang again with what turned out to be an even better opportunity with Motor Trend. It’s nearly impossible to imagine an even better job, but I still answer the phone…
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