In other news, discussed previously a few 100 or so pages ago, another Lucid Sapphire article admits "the production Lucid must share the quarter-mile record with the Tesla Model S Plaid (which is quicker to 60 mph by 0.1 second)."
$250k vs under $100k.
Ref: https://www.motortrend.com/reviews/2024-lucid-air-sapphire-first-test-review/amp/
Sapphire looks great, but at the price of 2.8 Model S Plaids, it's not going to achieve any kind of production relevance. Heck, Tesla only sells 10-12K Model S at its lower price points. It does raise the interesting question of what Tesla could do for 250K, but that will be the Roadster probably.That is surprising. That's at least the second source saying the production sapphire is slower than expected. Even Motortrend says the Plaid is quicker:
9.3 sec @ 156.0 mph vs 9.25 sec @ 152.6 mph.
I'm guessing the higher trap speed reflects higher HP, higher peak battery output, since the battery is larger than the Plaid. The Plaid manages faster 0-60 probably from lower weight, similar torque.
The Sapphire did beat the Plaid on handling, though I'd be curious if they retested the Plaid with the track pack and track mode enabled if they would be comparable or even if the Plaid would win. I don't know if track mode was even available back when they wrote their article in June of 2021. The track pack definitely wasn't.
So in the end it's an exercise in a halo car at a time when Lucid should be racing towards a 60K EV crossover to get some momentum towards profitability. I hope the Gravity is a good product, since I'd like to see Lucid survive. We'll see.