Lucid Air, the next company in line gunning for Tesla, just threw down the gauntlet by running an astonishing 9.9 second quarter-mile run at Sonoma Raceway. What's perhaps equally impressive is that they nearly ran a 9.8 as their official time was 9.912. They're branding their new Air Dream Edition as the fastest production sedan on the planet, and in this video we see clips of them benchmarking not just against a Tesla Model S P100D, but also against the seriously fast Porsche Taycan Turbo S. But can a company actually come out of nowhere and dominate these well-known players?

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Covert Operations

Compared to a company that talked a big game and delivered very little, Lucid is providing a real breath of fresh air. They've seemingly taken on the motto of walk softly and carry a big stick. Three years ago, they released a video of an early Air reaching 235 mph. Two years ago, they set a lap record at Laguna Seca with the Air.

Today, we see them waving that stick around with such a fast drag strip time. We've seen them quietly improving their concept over the last few years and in just a few days on September 9th, they're planning to reveal the full production car to the public.

Intelligent Design

Via Lucid Air

According to Lucid, when the Air launches on the 9th, it will be a new level of luxury and performance that we haven't seen before from an EV startup. The platform is centered around a 113kW hour battery that powers two motors providing control to all four wheels. Those power units are said to be capable of some 650 horsepower each with a giant battery that can go up to 517 miles on a single charge. Despite those serious capabilities, Lucid says they're doing it without adding heft. The entire drive unit weighs in at only 163lbs which surely helps with all things speed-related.  It's going to have to live up to every claim out there though because one more entry into the market that's not measurably better in at least one high-priority category won't move the needle much.

Time Will Tell

Via Lucid Air

If there's a company out there that can seriously take on Tesla in terms of pricing, performance, and unfettered innovation, Lucid might just be the one. Thanks to their heavy involvement in Formula E, they've learned what they needed to beat Tesla down a drag strip for now. They've also set pricing targets right alongside the Model S and built what looks like it will be a nicer place to be inside the cabin. We'll be watching on September 9th to ensure you get the news first here at Hotcars.

Sources: Lucid Motors, Youtube

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