1234bhp Lucid Air Sapphire Review: World’s Best Super Saloon?!
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- Опубликовано: 13 май 2024
- What’s got three motors, 1234 horsepower, does 0-60 in less than two seconds and has more boot space than a Tesla? Why, it’s a car you might well never have heard of.
The Lucid Air’s range-topping model is the Sapphire, a super-saloon that seeks not just to be faster, but also comfier, quieter, cleverer, more efficient and much roomier than the competition. It’s the sort of car born out of dissatisfaction with the world - in this case company CEO Peter Rawlinson’s frustration (while working as Tesla’s chief engineer) that the Model S wasn’t as good as it could’ve been.
Top Gear’s Ollie Kew has been to drive it, and interview the Lucid boss to find out what drives him….
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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:53 Walkaround
03:32 Chat With Peter Rawlinson: Part 1
09:23 The Stats
15:14 Chat With Peter Rawlinson: Part 2
20:54 Lucid's Competitors
22:18 Chat With Peter Rawlinson: Part 3
27:18 Conclusion
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Would you pick a £100K Model S Plaid or a $249K Lucid Air Sapphire?
Neither. 😂
Sapphire! Lucid’s what Tesla could’ve been, had it allowed any outside input (namely, German and/or Swedish).
The Lucid, for build quality alone. Also, the Air Grand Touring is half the cost and still pretty sweet.
I'd have a Lucid Pure and a Porsche Taycan GT
or £300K Cadillac Celestiq ? or £200K Porsche Taycan Turbo GT? or £130K Karma Gyesera?
I just love how calm and collected Peter Rawlinson is in the entire interview.
He's taking in investors money so of course he's sitting pretty 😂
Right? Hope people start catching on to how unserious Tesla and Elon are by comparison
Peter , was killed by Saudis in 2023, this one is AI Deep Fake.
@@chrisk.6531 serious people wouldn't have started Tesla, in a market that did not exist with no certainty of making the money back. serious people and companies sat back doing iterative updates to keep raking in money, but now they're playing catch-up
@@chrisk.6531BAAAAhahahah, Tesla net income for the last quarter was 8 billion. Lucid loses over 2 billion a year so far. Lucid is predicting they will only produce 9000 units in 2024 after they said they would make 90,000 units. Not too serious are they. Tesla produced 485,000 units in the last quarter and 1.8 million units for 2023. Their numbers are only going up. That's how serious Tesla and Elon are.
lucid is having fun while choosing their horsepower numbers
When your power train is just limited by traction how much power you can actually put down to the ground. Might as well have fun with the power numbers.
With Lucid's drive unit nominally rated at 620hp (I have also seen 670 quoted) the 3-motor Sapphire could hypothetically be tuned for at least 1860hp. No street tires could withstand that and the impact on other car components, well, it would be challenging to create a warranty.
I own Lucid stock, and the performance has been meh for a long time. I blame their management, and lack of imagination when it comes to the style of the cars. The performance of their vehicles is on par with super cars. I keep holding on to my stock in the hopes that they will innovate and design more sporty looking vehicles.
Throttle House had fun with it in the intro for their own Sapphire video, too.
@@Stanley-px3bt have you considered the fact they lose well over $200k on each car?
The most important takeaway from lucid is that electric cars need not be ugly. This car is really beautiful
Whatever your smokin, I want some! It looks like ass!
Very much not the first to do that. Lucid only contributed the trend, but they were late to the part. Cadillac ELR from 2014 still looks amazing today.
Sure, if you got no problem forking out 250k.
Not beautifull either. No way it looks a quarter mill car.
@@sebastianconstantin5176 well it definitely looks better than a Rolls Royce if that's what you are talking about, but still it doesn't look like a quarter mil car, more like a 80k car like a genesis.
I love how he uses millimeter precision to align his tea cup for maximum branding. Well played.
I mean it's a cup of his home country, deserves to be shown.
But millimetre precision will never take off in America.
Peter , will have an "accident" and slip on his TEA.
And millimetres are how their production is proceeding too. They will only produce 10% of what they said they would for 2024. You're a fanboi of a losing proposition. Only thing that is keeping Lucid afloat is Saudi blood money.
@@markplott4820 Okay boomer. You seem to reply to every comment on every single Lucid video that appears on RUclips. I don't understand the motivation nor how you have this much free time on your hands. Consider going outside and doing something with your life.
"Every Millimeter Counts"
"The best part is no part"
Good work ethic.
good to see he's kept the lotus school of thought
Unfortunately history is littered with examples of the best tech not being the most successful/adopted for mass consumption. The passion and focus on engineering these guys show is admirable, but the persistent creep towards the ‘known’ from the general public will be hard to overcome.
I think you're right but I think Tesla has shown that you can penetrate the market and become a well known and respected brand
@@bruuhhhhTesla does not have the best tech. In fact, tesla is less than your common average and cheap out in every way possible. That is how mass marketing work.
@@tendieman69 Best Tech and Build Quality are seperate thing. Tesla very much does have some of the most advance technology in how their vehicle works. But how package and build that vehicle is corner cutting. This is how mass produced bleeding edge technology works.
Tesla doesn't do marketing.
@@Neojhun which tech on Tesla is cutting edge tech that no other company is doing better?
When you hear Pete explain you just feel his passion, I am in awe of this guy I pray Lucid grows and becomes a success
Quite the opposite with Elon's bombastic overly hyping style
LUCID motors is Desperate for some OEM to buy them, but they are too Expensive.
Lucid spends $377,000 per car to Produce. $45,000 each car to Repair.
@@cowarddonnie-ji5yz they definitely approach things differently
Taking millions in bonus when the stock is tanking!! He’s a good engineer, that’s all he is
I have been driving my Lucid Air GT (a mere 819hp) for two years as of this month. While it lacks the top shelf go-fast tricks of the Sapphire it does have, to my senses, a more comfortable and appealing interior. As to handling and performance, the endless list of glowing reviews and awards speak to that. I look forward to having a go sometime in the lively RWD version. At well under 1/3 of the Sapphire's price (less than a base Model S) it should be quite popular.
I think things will go the other way. Horse Power has peaked. No point in having much more than you can use! Especially if the tyres can't handle it! If they can it serverely impacts tyre life! Also you will be using bigger, stronger, heavier & more powerful motors than you can effectively & efficiently. Three motors are one too many. Two, either one front one rear or two rear. So lose a motor reduce the other saves hell of a lot weight which would add to the range!
@@kevinburke6743 So I'll just assume you didn't understand (or maybe even read) the post you replied to. I said my less powerful Lucid was quite enough while the even less powerful, less costly, and lighter single motor Lucid seems quite desirable.
I love that lucid is a company of engineers making something with passion. I will never be able to afford one but it's cool to see.
Bankruptcy imminent.
PETER is no Engineer , Peter is a FAGAN.
The entry level one is starting at $69900
its , too bad LUCID cant Design its cars to LAST a LONG time.
$45,000 repairs on each car.
Buy some stock for a couple of thousands and you can in a few years if you do believe in it.
I've seen many Lucids tested on RUclips, but this interview adds a whole new dimension to what the company is and what they've accomplished. Lots of respect, and lots of luck to them, I hope they do well.
LUCID has been Lying since Before 2020.
If Jason Camisa say's it's the best car, you know it's going to be pretty amazing!
"The best handling car ever made." - Also Jason Cammisa
This comment made go watch that Hagerty video again (Lucid vs Bugatti vs Tesla plaid)🤣
yeah and good luck finding service for this car when something breaks down.
It's interesting every single review I've seen of this car describes it as next level chassis and handling, but the brand can't seem to get any traction in the marketplace because it doesn't look as wild as the also-250k cars it outperforms.
@@shoveI cant get traction because they cant make enough cars...
Ok. They're too expensive. But 4.7mi/kWh is absolutely bananas. I had no idea they were getting that kind of efficiency out of their drivetrain and drag coefficient. Even if they sink, their engineers deserve a pat on the back for that number.
Air GT owner, and while I could afford the Sapphire, I really do not want to give up the Range of the GT. For me, range is King, in fact any time you hear someone talk about an EV Range is the number 1 thing people talk about or consider. Yet for some unknown reason the speed is all anyone on RUclips talks about. Tesla is a one trick pony "I'm fast"....who cares. My Air GT consistantly gets 470 miles of range, and if i want to blow the doors off a supercar, I can, and not even put it into Sprint mode. EA fast charging for me is great, 300 miles added in 20 to 30 minutes. I call that a Win. If I charge up at home, 9000W of solar combined with the 40kWh Battery backup system on my house keeps everything in check and balanced so that the grid never gets hit any harder than 500W. I call that a Win too!
So while the Sapphire has the performance numbers, that quite honestly we could never use, my Air GT does get excellent range, and who in their right mind couldn't be happy with 819HP?
Nice Video and especially the insiders look at the corporate level. That was very insightful....Thanks.
Good Luck.
grand touring trim is already plenty fast. The sapphire is nice and all, but it's just too expensive tho. With the price drops now, I'd say the GT trim is probably worth it now. For that range and speed at 110k, its more than worth it in my opinion. Heck, I would say even the Air Pure is pretty fast already. If it was a few months ago, I would say lucid is not worth it due to how expensive they were. My roommate just got the brand new model 3 and for the price of a "luxury" vehicle. It was not luxurious whatsoever. It looked pretty basic to me. Almost the same as toyota interior. I'm not paying that kind of money for a basic interior car.
But it will be possible to sell a Tesla in five years, long after Lucid has gone under.
@@geraint8989 These owners who are buying these cars know that fact already. Let them enjoy life, you only live once. Tesla is boring and lucid is exciting, face the facts. Don't get me wrong though, both cars are excellent still. Nobody wants to live with a car that they don't like.
I own a lucid air GT and had a model X, S and s class. This thing is everything packaged together.
If you're the type who wants a car like a model S or a 5 series etc. Essentially luxury sedan; did you like the S enough to daily it? or is the lucid better including the charging experience?
lol no you don’t own shit. Stop pretending on Internet to satisfy your own ego
Of course you do mate. I am also baby Jesus.
Do you have a spare car?
There's only ONE EV I want ... Lucid Sapphire. Im really rooting for LUCID.
I highly recommend test driving an 800hp Air GT. You will be amazed. It is much more attainable than the Sapphire and has more than enough scoot to get in all kinds of trouble. I have traveled to various favorite Hill Country, Ozark, and Colorado twisties to give it a good thrashing. It's hard to ask for more, but if Sapphire is in your budget, go for it.
Peter is in interesting character in a good way
Lucids product is absolutely fantastic. They have a singular problem which is the lack of affordability compared to competitors. That Model S Plaid comparison was absolutely spot on
You must like pieces of crap.
A telsa is like an arsehole EVERYBODY has one
the problem is they Dont last a long time .
$45,000 in Repairs for each car.
Something wasn’t mentioned is that lucid air base model now starts at $69,000 which is becoming more affordable as they scale.
Everything takes time. They make good stuff. Eventually people will get it.
I remember the first time I got an Air GT on a twisty road and started pushing it. It immediately reminded me of a refresh Gen V Maserati Quattroporte Sport GT S (minus the crossplane Ferrari V8 noises). Both cars feel like they “shrink” when you start driving them spiritedly on a good road, they both mask their weight extremely well. Honestly, as much as I tend to shit on EV’s, Lucid is the only brand I defend. What an astonishing car to drive.
I’m an investor in Lucid and absolutely love their cars. I do feel there is a management issue as they are bleeding money and have been for a while now. They would have gone bankrupt a long time ago if it wasn’t for the PIF. Honestly, I hope they continue and become a success in the future, as nearly all investors are deep in the red right now.
I would love the Lucid Air to come to the UK
It is coming to UK. They are working on a right wheel drive for a while now. Only a matter of time.
If they don’t go bust first
one of the best top gear interviews. good job.
I love engineering brands. I really want Lucid to succeed. It's what Mercedes used to be. It's what BMW used to be. Hopefully the Gravity and the volume car succeed.
the Lucid is built too Expensive . its TECH package really SUX.
Lucid cant FIX their very CRAPPY Buggy software , they lack the Engineers.
Lucid has a Longevity problem w/ Drive motors, Battery packs and Inverters.
Very interesting video, nice to hear the boss talking honestly and without the B.S.
I have a lucid air and a Tesla model y. The built quality on the lucid is miles ahead of the Tesla, however the infotainment on the Tesla is night and day when compared to the Lucid. The lucid screen is glitchy and it’s pretty embarrassing for a car at this price point. Infotainment aside, the Lucid air is a great car!
Speaking from experience you wont find many vehicles, gas or electric, that drive better than a Lucid. Seriously considering one for my next car. The only thing holding me back right now is a desire to see their software mature a little more. For example, we finally got apple car play but we are still waiting on android auto.
Awesome insight Top Gear!!
I have my lucid air for just over 7 months now, I would like to say it’s the best car I have ever owned, and the attention I get with this car it’s unbelievable.
What a great video! The interview with Peter Rawlinson is such a fresh perspective. Most brands hide their CEOs behind PR teams and only ask curated questions but this interview asked some pretty interesting questions. Mainly about Tesla, the OE manufacturers and even the Chinese competition. Peter answered with his honest opinions, he seems very ambitious and I cannot wait to see more from the company. Though if you asks me the Sapphire being more than double the price of a Plaid cannot be written off, its a bit of an apples to oranges comparison with that price delta.
I'd heard about Lucid, but hadn't really learned much about them. This was a really fascinating interview and a really well-presented video
Great video. Very inspiring. Love the passion of the CEO! It's now about making sure everyone knows about Lucid, and creating that brand that everyone wants. Go Lucid!
Great interview, I see Lucid as a long term investment that is currently bargain and undervalue. think Lucid's car and battery is really high quality, as it needs to build more affordable EV and push for SUV gravity, and stronger financial metrics (Free cash flow and cost cutting) to build brand of moat over long term. I look forward for Lucid's company future potentials.
There is no car I want more than an Air.
Why...performance tesla roadster, luxury range rover, why settle for this🤨
To go with your Air jordans
@@JHunter_because they want proper fit and finish and to not have it in the shop every 3rd month.
Plus the sapphire outperforms the plaid, so.... Not really settling now are they?
@@JHunter_the roadster isnt in production, Range Rovers are actually overrated garbage thats why
To be fair to everyone Lucid fitment isn't great either just better and Range Rover will be in the shop more that either despite being drop dead gorgeous inside and out and more comfortable.
Model S frunk is smaller because of the bio defense mode HEPA filter. Before that, the frunk was a lot bigger, especially in the RWD version.
Please lucid, do make right hand drive versions of your cars ...and do launch them in the UK, Australia, NZ and other Asian Right hand drive markets
No, drive on the right side of the road😊
Lucid builds the world's best sedans in a world of SUVs. I hope the Gravity will give them the return they truly deserve.
I really enjoyed the interview. Lucid is way better than Tesla ever will be.
Will lucid ever be the company Tesla already is? Bust in 2 years without Saudi money
i know lucid is marketing their cars as luxury and very high end.
We all know not many people are rich to spend 100k-200k for a car.. its a niche market.
They do need to branch a brand for the masses using many of their tech in a more affordable people.. like 98% of people. That's where the profit would be. Maybe they can make a "brand" with a tag "By Lucid" that could range between 40-60k EVs... pretty much to compete with Kia/Hyundai/Fisker/Tesla 3/Y type vehicles.
Basically this. $40K SUV would sell like hot cakes
Great! Now I want to see them do a tiny, lightweight sports car with 2 motors in the back that are half as big as this one's.
Great video, love the in-depth with Peter Rawlinson.
Right? It’s a remarkable conversation with a key player.
Unfortunately consumers have a habit of ignoring technical prowess and history is littered with examples of amazing products that failed despite their innovation. I really hope that Lucid avoids that fate. Whilst legacy manufacturers flounder around trying to work out what to do, the engineering led approach by Lucid has produced one the most outstanding designs available today. SUVs are what people want to buy though and if they can get theirs over the line, I think their future looks bright. Great video and fascinating interview, love Ollie’s style. 👍
Lucid has great technology and engineering. They should have tried to form a partnership like Rimac did with Porsche. Rimac got Bugatti and money from Porsche in return for a shareholding in their company and access to their technology. I wonder if Lucid would benefit from being part of Mercedes or BMW?
Peter is a genius and should start up a Rocket company too! 😅😊
Talk about making Elon's blood boil 😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@juanmonster6232 😉
Next HP # should be 1337
add about 4 to make it an even megawatt!
Probably the only EV (plus maybe the Taycan/E-tron GT) that genuinely excites me
Really great interview. Great watch
Great thnig they hqve built, I really hope they manage to get to growth.
Fantastic video, well done. Will we ever see a RHD Lucid?
Great questions from Ollie in this episode!
Stunning car.
I mean it's pricey but if you look at the history of the car is kinda on point. I see them being a leader in the near future.
Such well made video. Very fun to watch!
My RS5 Vorsprung has 444bhp...I'd say that's adequate!
Best engineering interview I have heard for a long time! And the best I have heard of you T.G.
1 2 3 4 well aligned 😂😂
Lucid’s design is beyond Amazing
i have Lucid never regret
I love a car company whose CEO is an engineer.
CEO Rawlinson, an industry veteran who previously engineered cars for Tesla, Lotus and Jaguar,😮
Thank you for sharing !!!👍
This is such a well made video
Super cool, and the long range is a very strong selling point.
fantastic car and really interesting interview
Kudos to Pete, that's exactly how I'd like to design a car. So rare for engineering priorities to dominate rather than being diluted & manipulated by other demands. I imagine it would be pretty interesting to be involved with such a special product 🏴
When you said front boot not a frunk, I smiled, thank you for not using that ridiculous term
You could see that although Rawlison and Tesla dont see eye to eye, he has a deep sense of gratitude and respect for Tesla and the time he spent there
I hope their funders can hold on longer, I like Lucid's approach to making an EV car.
putting its hefty price tag aside its a total package,absolutely worth it.
Thanks for sharing your brilliantly insightful conversation. He appears to be not only intelligent, but quite a passionate gentleman. Thanks for the video.
I really want lucid to survive , they are the Saab of evs
Lucid really reinvented not just motor but other tech as well... it has become a very important non Chinese EV company.
Such a beautiful car and well thought and engineered
This car is truly amazing, would have loved a bit more in depth look at the cars "quirks and features", 😉 but I do love Peter's sophisticated chatter about LUCID and how it is going forward to be sustainable. The only other EV car close to this yhst I prefer is the LOTUS EMEYA, Taycans and Teslas are falling way behind and not even intresting/pioneering anymore. 🤣👍
Now if only they could make a small volume car like a VW Golf or Opel Astra with the same engineering prowess for 30k. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.
Love Peter Rawlinson's tea cup. It takes Brains. 🤣👍
I hope, they"ll be successful. Amazing car, great effort went into the engineering. It"s hard to stay over the waves of the market. Wish them luck
Good looking that's for sure.
Lucid Grand Touring + metallic zenith red = guaranteed future dream car. Unmatched beauty/elegance, unreal control & handling, epic range capacity and the fastest kilowatt charging architecture on the planet. G*d Bless Peter Rawlinson.
Well done!
Really love hearing how much thought has gone into the Lucid. I own a Model S and its "completeness" has Peter's stamp on it. Sad they don't sell more because clearly you are being charged only a fraction of what it costs to build = a lot of car for your money.
Top Gear and Ollie...this is exactly why your content is must watch and listen to. Incredible insight. Ollie your interview with Peter Rawlinson was one of the best i have listened to. A Welsh genius! Okay so the Saudi investment and funding is questionable. And could be the company's undoing. Yes the Lucid is for the rich [very!] and elite. However, the one thing i do hope for more than anything else is that Lucid totally destroys Tesla as a brand and indeed a company. Yes Lucid has Saudi Arabia links, Tesla has Musk. And he alone is the danger to us all. Oh and the Lucid looks fantastic! A true car, a real electric alternative. Porsche must be quaking in their boots. Thank You, Ollie great interview.
They have the r&d to trickle down and achieve economies of scale via cheaper models. I will keep an eye. Hope they achieve the success they deserve.
Interesting it took @TopGear so long to review it. Ben Collins was giving hot laps at Quail 2 years ago!
Lucid has hands down some of the finest EV engineering in the automotive industry. However, the clock is ticking and they need to quickly become profitable which requires a keen understanding of successful vehicle marketing.
Excellent video!
Top class Car.
I hope they are around next year tho.
I was hoping for an engineer's deep dive into the suspension. I want to know the magic involved with making is such a well-handling car.
Plus, I've been curious about the handling characteristics between the trim levels. Does the least expensive RWD Lucid handle just as well as the Saphire?
Watch the vid about Air Sapphire from SavageGeese. It has interviews with the driving dynamics team.
@@jzzz26 I watched *most* of that. Do you remember if they compared suspension systems? That was a long video.
@@adjust.cliniciirc they only talked about how they coded the Air Sapphire’s dynamics in house as suppose to getting it from 3rd party suppliers on the other Air models because the one supplied isn’t good enough and can’t handle the Sapphire.
Q: Does the least expensive RWD Lucid handle just as well as the Saphire? A: yes, better even since for sure you're not the Stig/Ben Collins in terms of your driving skills (i mean who is). the 4562 lb RWD Pure sheds 775 lbs vs. the Sapphire's 5,335 lbs, so it's very important everyone gets over the "myth" that the addition of Dual, Triple, (and even Quadruple) Motors is what makes a car handle better and drive better (because it doesn't)...
no those "extra motors" are just CRUTCHES desired by people to compensate for the fact that they DON'T know how to drive, nor have the patience to learn (aw crap). that's right the AWD 911 Turbo's a great car, but notice how what you DON'T see are GT3RS owners feeling like they've been "jipped" out of $300k+ because Porsche is not routing power to the front wheels...? no, what GT3RS owners are expressly buying for their $300k+ is the "purity" of RWD combined with extensive Carbon light-weighting.
Good summary, @@phillyphil1513 . I have a RWD Model 3, and it's actually pretty fun to toss in the corners. I often wonder what I'm missing by not having the Performance Model 3.
yes. I want one
This was a really good video.
What an insane machine
Would love to see a hatchback with that front
Lucid might be the only electric-only manufacturer that genuinely excites me, and it is 100% due the engineering minds there and their resourcefulness and dedication to detail. I think they really do want to make the absolute best electric car money can buy. If they take that kind of zeal for engineering and spread it throughout a range of vehicles, they'll be what BMW used to be, but for the electric car buying world.
Would be cool to see Lucid join up with Rivian. I think they can really scratch each others' backs and become a force.
23:20 I dont think its W/mi what going to differentiate bc there’s only by so much you can reduce the cd but rather the battery technology in terms of capacity/density and charging speeds
This is the car people should be comparing to the Porsche Tycan GT... not the fractionally priced Plaid, but no one seems to care about it 🤷♂️
People forget to think most of the time. That being said...imagine how fast lucid could make the car if it had as much compromise as a taycan 😂. 200 miles range, 3 series interior space. Poor storage. It would be the size of a bugeye impreza.
Wheels complimented 👍
Id love to have the Lucid but The depreciation on the lucid is crazy. I will keep my model x for now.
So buy used and 'depreciation' becomes 'discount'
Peter is a wonderful person by his vision is a difficult sell with SUV an truck demands.
SUV starts shipping later this year.
Efficiency is everything!
what an amazing car !!!