During the development of the Lucid Air, the company showed off a three-motor version that seemed capable of very impressive performance. Judging by a new teaser, we’ll see a production version of this speedy EV at The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering on August 19.
The brief teaser animation shows three cylindrical objects rotating and rotating. The elements have a resemblance to part of the stator, which is a major component of an electric motor. To push the message even stronger, the company includes the statement: “Three is a magic number”.
Assuming it really is the three-motor Air, then it could be a real competitor to the Tesla Model S Plaid. In 2020, the company sent a prototype of the tri-motor around Laguna Seca and managed to set a lap time of 1 minute and 31.3 seconds. For comparison, a Plaid was able to do it in 1:30.3.
Lucid also showed off the three-motor prototype covering the quarter mile in 9.245 seconds at 157.26 miles per hour. However, as a pre-production vehicle, we cannot be certain that the version going on sale is also capable of this acceleration.
When Lucid released all the details about the Air Dream Edition in 2020, it also provided some clues about the tri-motor model. The company claimed that the two rear axle motors were capable of producing an outrageous 1,300 horsepower (969 kilowatts). At the time, the automaker hoped to launch this vehicle in late 2021.
The most powerful version of the Air to date was the Dream Edition Performance which developed 1,111 hp (829 kW). Lucid no longer offers that trim level, so the Grand Touring Performance with 1,050 hp (783 kW) is the current top dog in the lineup. One was the fastest production vehicle in the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed hill climb with a time of 50.79 seconds.
In August, Lucid reduced its estimated production of Air in 2022 to between 6,000 and 7,000 units. This was the second reduction during the year after initially hoping to build 20,000 vehicles and then revising that number to between 12,000 and 14,000 cars. The automaker cited “extraordinary supply chain and logistics challenges” as the reason for the change in plans.
The Lucid Air Stealth Look Pack will also be on display during Monterey Car Week. For a discussion of this and the other vehicles featured at the big motoring event, check out the latest episode of the ride on cars podcast:
