Lucid is quoting a range of more than 500 miles for its upcoming Air Dream Edition. If that holds up in the real world, it would seem to be a new record for a production EV (and may stand until Aptera gets into the game), and as much range as many an ICE vehicle (to say nothing of the human bladder) can offer.

MotorTrend’s Jonny Lieberman recently drove the Lucid Air Dream Edition R, and not only was he able to get pretty close to the quoted range, but he raved about the new EV’s performance and luxury, calling it “a fantastic machine.”

According to Lucid’s web site, the Air Dream Edition offers up to 1,080 horsepower and a range of 503 miles (the version MotorTrend tested had slightly different specs). Lieberman took a little spin from Los Angeles to San Francisco, while Lucid CEO/CTO Peter Rawlinson followed in another car. Both made it with plenty of range to spare—MT calculated that Lieberman’s Air had the potential to go 475 miles, whereas Rawlinson’s could have traveled 517 miles (sounds like Mr. Rawlinson is the man to beat when it comes to hypermiling).

Lieberman was delighted with just about everything about the Air—he found its interior to be “one of the nicest in the car world,” and far more luxurious than Tesla’s minimalist aesthetic. He noted that the Air’s three screens “don’t dominate the cabin the way their counterparts do in both the Tesla and [the Mercedes EQS].” Performance was equally impressive: “The Lucid Air is shockingly fast, with quick, well-weighted steering.”

The Air Dream Edition has a 113 kWh battery pack, and works on a unique 900-volt system, which allows CCS fast charging at up to 300 kW, and Level 2 charging at up to 19.2 kW. The onboard charger is bidirectional, enabling future V2X applications. Making components as small and light as possible is a key design goal at Lucid—the Air’s front and rear motors each weigh 163 pounds, and according to MT’s calculations, they deliver a considerably better power density than—oh, let’s just take a random example—the Tesla Model S Long Range. The Air’s 0-60 time is “as quick as 2.5 seconds,” and top speed is 168 mph.

Lucid plans to begin deliveries by the end of 2021.

Source: MotorTrend