Hi folks - I attended a private viewing of the Lucid Air last night at the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles. The company hosted a small reception after hours attended by Lucid employees, friends, family, and some EV enthusiasts.
It was a very nice event. There were 3 vehicles there. They had one used for the "unveiling" - black sheet over the car and all - and provided presentations about the car's features, including one by their CTO Peter Rawlinson, the former Chief Engineer of the Tesla Model S. They also had 2 camouflaged cars outside for test rides (more on that below).
During the unveiling, they indicated that the car would have 1000hp, 2.5s 0-60, and a 130kw battery. One of the slides indicated 300+ miles of range, though I *believe* someone said that it would have 400+ miles upon launch (I could be wrong). They also indicated that the car would have autonomous driving capabilities. One of the slides described the sensors that the car would have:
They also had on display examples of the motor, screens with examples of the in-car UI, and various interior combinations named after places in California.
They let folks sit inside the "unveiled" version of the car. It was very plush and beautiful inside. I daresay somewhat nicer than my P90DL. They glass roof was terrific, somewhat reminiscent of the MX. The car's truck was of a standard type, not a hatchback. They didn't open it, but I did see the frunk opened.
As I had mentioned, they also had 2 camouflaged cars outside for test rides. They drove folks around the parking lot. The cars had the bench configuration rear seat. Unlike the "showroom version" used for the unveiling, the test drive car interiors were extremely sparse - it looked like the interior of a nascar, with exposed roll-bars, wiring, latticework, fire extinguisher, etc. They showcased the acceleration a couple of times during the test ride. It was very very quick. It seemed comparable to an "insane" launch on a P90D - possibly like ludicrous mode. The one thing I noticed is that the car fishtailed somewhat on my ride. I was somewhat alarmed, but the driver seemed nonplussed, indicating that it was normal for those prototypes - they had not yet programed the traction control software. The other thing I noticed is that they took one of the two test cars out of service fairly early on in the evening. Not sure why. I've uploaded raw video footage of the test ride here.
All in all it was an impressive car, and a fun, informative evening. Pictures attached.
It was a very nice event. There were 3 vehicles there. They had one used for the "unveiling" - black sheet over the car and all - and provided presentations about the car's features, including one by their CTO Peter Rawlinson, the former Chief Engineer of the Tesla Model S. They also had 2 camouflaged cars outside for test rides (more on that below).
During the unveiling, they indicated that the car would have 1000hp, 2.5s 0-60, and a 130kw battery. One of the slides indicated 300+ miles of range, though I *believe* someone said that it would have 400+ miles upon launch (I could be wrong). They also indicated that the car would have autonomous driving capabilities. One of the slides described the sensors that the car would have:
- 2 Long range & 4 short range radar
- 3 front cameras (with different VOC)
- 5 active surround view cameras,
- 2 long range lidar & 2 short range lidar
- driver monitoring camera
They also had on display examples of the motor, screens with examples of the in-car UI, and various interior combinations named after places in California.
They let folks sit inside the "unveiled" version of the car. It was very plush and beautiful inside. I daresay somewhat nicer than my P90DL. They glass roof was terrific, somewhat reminiscent of the MX. The car's truck was of a standard type, not a hatchback. They didn't open it, but I did see the frunk opened.
As I had mentioned, they also had 2 camouflaged cars outside for test rides. They drove folks around the parking lot. The cars had the bench configuration rear seat. Unlike the "showroom version" used for the unveiling, the test drive car interiors were extremely sparse - it looked like the interior of a nascar, with exposed roll-bars, wiring, latticework, fire extinguisher, etc. They showcased the acceleration a couple of times during the test ride. It was very very quick. It seemed comparable to an "insane" launch on a P90D - possibly like ludicrous mode. The one thing I noticed is that the car fishtailed somewhat on my ride. I was somewhat alarmed, but the driver seemed nonplussed, indicating that it was normal for those prototypes - they had not yet programed the traction control software. The other thing I noticed is that they took one of the two test cars out of service fairly early on in the evening. Not sure why. I've uploaded raw video footage of the test ride here.
All in all it was an impressive car, and a fun, informative evening. Pictures attached.
