Latest news with #LucidAirSapphire
Car and Driver
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
2025 Lucid Air Sapphire Is the Quickest Car We've Ever Tested
The Lucid Air Sapphire we tested hit 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, 100 mph in 3.9 seconds, and finished the quarter-mile in 9.1 seconds at 155 mph. The Sapphire's 60-mph time ties the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach, but the Lucid is even quicker in accelerating to triple-digit speeds. Both EVs we tested wore ultra-grippy Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires, and while the Sapphire is 418 pounds heavier, it has an extra 215 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. Welcome to Car and Driver's Testing Hub, where we zoom in on the test numbers. We've been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to bolster our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here). Have you ever wondered what it's like to drive a Top Fuel dragster on the street—legally, of course? The 1234-hp Lucid Air Sapphire is arguably the closest thing, minus all the noise and nose-hair-tingling smell of race fuel. Similarly quick and equally electric, the 1019-hp Porsche Taycan Turbo GT qualifies as a close second. In fact, in Car and Driver's nearly 70 years of testing cars, the Taycan Turbo GT was the first to record a sub-two-second sprint to 60 mph, hitting that mark in an incredible 1.9 seconds. With the mass-reducing Weissach kit, the Turbo GT was even quicker, but not enough to get to a 1.8-second zero-to-60 time. While Porsche deserves its flowers, holding the title of quickest car to 60 mph we've ever tested was short-lived, as Lucid's quarter-million-dollar supersedan has tied that record-setting run. Since ties are as exciting as waiting in line at a public fast-charger, we need a way to separate these two hypercar-like EVs. When it comes to acceleration, the Sapphire owns the tiebreaker. Incredible Quickness This isn't the first time we've tested the ultimate Lucid Air. Previously, we tested a 2024 model that hit 60 mph in 2.1 seconds. However, that car wore Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, which aren't nearly as grippy as the Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS Elect rubber on our 2025 Sapphire, a $2900 option. Along with sticky tires and all-wheel-drive traction, the tri-motor four-door makes 1430 pound-feet of torque that puts every heavy-duty truck's diesel engine to shame. That stump-pulling torque and 1234 horsepower helped give the Sapphire an acceleration advantage against the Taycan Turbo GT Weissach, which makes 914 pound-feet and has the same type of tires. The Weissach we tested weighed 4915 pounds, which is 418 pounds less than the 5333-pound Lucid. Jessica Lynn Walker | Car and Driver View Photos Michael Simari | Car and Driver It's probably best to eat a light lunch before launching either of these machines. The experiences are akin to a catapult, instantly forceful and eerily quiet, apart from the mostly muted sound of outside wind and road noise. Besides the sensation of butterflies in our stomach and feeling like being glued to the back of the seats, both the Sapphire and Taycan Turbo GT have launch control that makes it relatively easy to pull off these insane feats of acceleration. But while they each reach 60 mph in 1.9 seconds, the Lucid pulls away after that, hitting 200 mph in 17.9 seconds on its way to a governor-limited 208-mph top speed. Meanwhile, the top Taycan tops out at 190 mph, but we only hit 170 mph in our acceleration test, which took 12.7 seconds—1.5 seconds slower than the Sapphire. While it's officially a tie to 60 mph, if you zoom into the hundredths place, the Sapphire is fractionally ahead, and the Lucid's acceleration advantage starts hitting the tenths place after they both hit 80 mph in 2.8 seconds. From there, the Sapphire's lead grows, and it hits 100 mph two-tenths sooner at 3.9 seconds. It hits 130 mph in 6.3 seconds and 150 mph in 8.4 seconds, which are advantages of 0.3 and 0.5 second, respectively. Michael Simari | Car and Driver Our 2025 Lucid Air Sapphire had an as-tested price of $253,400, and the 2025 Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach was $20K behind it at $233,395 as tested. Despite being slightly slower than the Sapphire, the top Taycan posted better cornering grip on our skidpad (1.11 g vs. 1.09), and both cars stopped from 70 mph in an identical 140 feet. However, we're not sure the Weissach's slight edge will be enough to overturn the Sapphire's decisive lap-time win at Virginia International Raceway over the non-Weissach Taycan Turbo GT at our last Lightning Lap. If track days aren't part of the equation, the Lucid's comfier cabin, with its luxurious massaging front seats, and bigger trunk definitely make it a more desirable daily driver. Not to mention, the Sapphire comes with a limo-like back seat, whereas the Weissach-equipped Turbo GT ditches its rear buckets to save weight. Quicker Than a Bugatti? While all-wheel-drive EVs have blistering off-the-line quickness, one area they haven't been as strong in is higher-speed acceleration, through the quarter-mile and beyond. The 2022 Bugatti Chiron Super Sport we tested is the king of triple-digit acceleration times, hitting the 200-mph mark in 14.8 seconds. That's 3.1 ticks ahead of the Sapphire. The Chiron has also been our reigning king of the quarter-mile, with its 1578-hp quad-turbo 8.0-liter W-16 propelling it to a 9.1-second time. However, this latest Lucid sets the quickest quarter-mile we've ever seen from an EV, tying the $4.3 million Chiron hypercar at 9.1 seconds. View Photos Marc Urbano | Car and Driver However, once again, if you zoom into the hundredths place, the Sapphire pulls off a slight victory and is oh, so close to a run of 9.0 seconds flat. We managed that in one direction, but the best in the opposite direction dragged the average up to 9.1. (All of our acceleration results are an average of the best run in each direction to help neutralize the effects of wind or slight elevation change.) Also, the Sapphire hit 60 mph three-tenths quicker and reached the century mark two-tenths sooner than the Chiron SS. While the two machines are neck and neck through the quarter-mile, the Bugatti's additional horsepower is evident in its 161-mph trap speed, which is 6 mph faster than the Lucid's. Eric Stafford Managing Editor, News Eric Stafford's automobile addiction began before he could walk, and it has fueled his passion to write news, reviews, and more for Car and Driver since 2016. His aspiration growing up was to become a millionaire with a Jay Leno–like car collection. Apparently, getting rich is harder than social-media influencers make it seem, so he avoided financial success entirely to become an automotive journalist and drive new cars for a living. After earning a journalism degree at Central Michigan University and working at a daily newspaper, the years of basically burning money on failed project cars and lemon-flavored jalopies finally paid off when Car and Driver hired him. His garage currently includes a 2010 Acura RDX, a manual '97 Chevy Camaro Z/28, and a '90 Honda CRX Si. Read full bio
Stuff.tv
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Stuff.tv
I've just driven the super fast Lucid Air Sapphire but I'm left wanting an Audi S6 e-tron instead
It's not every day you get a choice of around sixty different motors to drive, many of them the best electric cars on the market. GTEST Alsfeld 2025, held not far from Frankfurt and currently in its fifth year, had just that to offer last week – and EVs were in just as much demand as the V8 super cars. Queues for the three-motor, 1000+ bhp Lucid Air Sapphire and latest super quick Chevrolet Corvette regularly snaked around the event. Both are entertaining for obvious reasons, but there were plenty of alternatives that would be much easier to live with in a real-world, daily drive scenario. My pick of the lot was the new Audi S6 e-tron, which looked good, came loaded with lots of goodies and drove like a dream. In fact, I think this was one of the best Audi's I've ever driven. It's hard to ignore the brute force provided by the Lucid Air Sapphire though. A stint behind the wheel of a Lucid Air GT the day before was my first experience of the brand; these machines look distinctive from the outside, but the interior is radically styled with a glass roof that seamlessly slopes into the windscreen. The sun visors are mounted directly to the glass. The dashboard area is equally interesting, with a sort of floating touchscreen instrument panel and an upright centre console touchscreen with lots of other controls, including the various drive mode. You can use the screen to pick a mode, or stick with the traditional drive shifter on the steering column. This choice takes on a new perspective in the Sapphire, which gets Smooth, Swift, Sapphire and Track modes to choose from, all of which pack in hidden delights. The Lucid Air GT is fast, but the Sapphire is on another level. It is scarily fast, with zero to 60mph arriving in a mind-blowing 1.89 seconds. There's a whopping 1,234 horsepower and a monstrous 1,430lb ft of torque, which shades the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. It needs to be handled with care. Having two electric motors at the rear and one at the front helps get that power down, but usd carelessly it'd probably result in needing a neck brace, such is the neck-snapping acceleration. The brakes, as I found out whenever they were tapped, provided seemingly unlimited stopping power too. Despite all this mad power, the Lucid Air Sapphire proved very comfortable at sensible speeds and feels nicely poised on the road. That composure didn't fall apart when travelling over less than glass-like asphalt, either. The company has tweaked the suspension for this model, while the enormous wheels have lots of quality rubber. The sizeable full-size sedan would feel large on smaller European back roads, but get one on a motorway and it'll eat up long journeys. Despite the fact it munches through battery power like there's no tomorrow with your foot to the floor, the 118kW battery can deliver up 427 miles of range. It's here where I drop two clangers. First, the price: a Lucid Air Sapphire will set you back circa $250,000. Second, it's not yet available outside of the US. Which left me with a quandary as to what I'd buy from the bumper selection of vehicles at GTEST Alsfeld on a more sensible budget. There were plenty of highlights: the Skoda Enyaq VRS, BYD Dolphin Surf and Mini Aceman to name but a few. The best of my bunch though, was the new Audi S6 e-tron. Oh sure, it's still expensive (at around £100,000), but everything's expensive these days – and it's also a veritable bargain compared to the Lucid. Granted, it's not as fast, but zero to sixty still clocks in at 3.9 seconds and it'll do 149mph while delivering over 400 miles of range. Inside, there's mountains of tech all of which largely works to great effect. Best of all though, I thought the Audi S6 e-tron drove like a dream and felt really capable without being scary. The Lucid didn't feel scary either, but I bet it would if pushed to the max. As for the Corvette I mentioned at the start… it had to be retired from the event early due to some damage to the rear end. The worst part about that, aside from the rumoured $20,000 dollar repair cost? It was withdrawn from service right before my go…
Scottish Sun
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- Scottish Sun
Who is James Engelsman and when will the YouTube star present The Grand Tour with Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois?
The star has over 3 million subscribers on YouTube Car superstar Who is James Engelsman and when will the YouTube star present The Grand Tour with Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois? JAMES Engelsman is a famous influencer known for his love of cars. The superstar will be presenting the latest series of Amazon's Grand Tour, alongside Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois. Advertisement 3 James Engelsman will be presenting the Grand Tour Credit: Instagram 3 James will be joined by his friend Thomas Holland Credit: Instagram 3 Francis Bourgeois will be the third cast member on the new series Credit: Getty Images Becoming an influencer James Engelsman is a co-host of the popular YouTube channel Throttle House. He joined the channel three years after it was launched by Thomas in 2015. The pair have racked up 3.2 million followers (as of May 2025) through their in-depth car reviews and track tests. On the channel, they often show off luxury vehicles, including a stunning Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II and a 2025 Lucid Air Sapphire. Advertisement Joining the Grand Tour James will be presenting the next series of The Grand Tour alongside his Throttle House co-presenter Thomas and Francis Bourgeois. The series will see them trying out the latest cars and taking on the incredible challenges that made the show famous. James May, Richard Hammond, and Jeremy Clarkson were the show's original presenters after launching it in 2016. The trio became famous for presenting the BBC's Top Gear, before moving over to the Amazon series. Advertisement After decades of working together, they have decided to go their separate ways but did return for one final Grand Tour episode. Entitled The Not Very Grand Tour, the episode saw the trio looking back on their incredible career. Clarkson's Farm's Kaleb Cooper REPLACED by glam new farmhand in new series - as Jeremy's Top Gear co-star makes cameo James and Thomas have been described as a 'younger' and 'cooler' set of presenters and will be joined by Francis Bourgeois. A trainspotting superstar Francis Bourgeois is a famous trainspotter who first found fame in 2021. Advertisement The star's videos often saw him at major stations, using a fish-eye lens to spot his favourite trains. His videos were so popular that he landed campaigns with luxury brands including Italian fashion house Gucci. Ahead of his appearance on the show, a source said: 'Francis is a big noise online and Amazon producers are hoping to bring him into the mainstream. 'He is loved by everyone - from royals to rappers - and is sure to be a hit with Grand Tour viewers. Advertisement 'Francis is not just a social media sensation but trained as a mechanical engineer so knows his stuff.'
The Irish Sun
30-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Irish Sun
Who is James Engelsman and when will the YouTube star present The Grand Tour with Thomas Holland and Francis Bourgeois?
JAMES Engelsman is a famous influencer known for his love of cars. The superstar will be presenting the latest series of Advertisement 3 James Engelsman will be presenting the Grand Tour Credit: Instagram 3 James will be joined by his friend Thomas Holland Credit: Instagram 3 Francis Bourgeois will be the third cast member on the new series Credit: Getty Images Becoming an influencer James Engelsman is a co-host of the popular He joined the channel three years after it was launched by The pair have racked up 3.2 million followers (as of May 2025) through their in-depth car reviews and track tests. On the channel, they often show off luxury vehicles, including a stunning Rolls-Royce Cullinan Series II and a 2025 Lucid Air Sapphire. Advertisement Read More on Driving News Joining the Grand Tour James will be presenting the next series of The series will see them trying out the latest cars and taking on the incredible challenges that made the show famous. The trio became famous for presenting the BBC's Top Gear, before moving over to Advertisement Most read in News TV After decades of working together, they have decided to go their separate ways but did return for Entitled Clarkson's Farm's Kaleb Cooper REPLACED by glam new farmhand in new series - as Jeremy's Top Gear co-star makes cameo James and Thomas have been described as a 'younger' and 'cooler' set of presenters and will be joined by Francis Bourgeois. A trainspotting superstar Francis Bourgeois is a famous trainspotter who first found fame in 2021. Advertisement The star's videos often saw him at major stations, using a fish-eye lens to spot his favourite trains. His videos were so popular that he landed campaigns with luxury brands including Italian fashion house Gucci. Ahead of his appearance on the show, a source said: 'Francis is a big noise online and Amazon producers are hoping to bring him into the mainstream. 'He is loved by everyone - from royals to rappers - and is sure to be a hit with Grand Tour viewers. Advertisement 'Francis is not just a social media sensation but trained as a mechanical engineer so knows his stuff.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Yangwang Sells a 1287-HP Super Sedan for Under $90K in China
The Yangwang U7 is a supersedan from China with a surprisingly reasonable price. The U7's quad-motor electric powertrain churns out 1287 horsepower, and the U7 can also be had as a range-extender plug-in hybrid. Sales of the U7 just began in China, with prices starting at around $86,000 at current exchange rates. Electric vehicles have truly democratized power. Engines making 800-plus horsepower were once reserved for only the most exotic supercars, but now potent electric powertrains can be found in everything from luxury sedans such as the 1234-hp Lucid Air Sapphire to pickups like the 1025-hp Rivian R1T Quad-Motor. In China, automotive giant BYD has begun selling its latest electric beast, the Yangwang U7, a sleek sedan with 1287 horsepower and a starting price that equates to less than $90,000 at current exchange rates. BYD introduced the Yangwang brand in 2023, and yes, the name is bound to elicit a few snickers from those with a juvenile sense of humor. But Yangwang has cranked out some of China's most interesting cars since its arrival, starting with the brash, decadent U8 SUV and dramatic U9 supercar. Both produce well over 1000 hp, look sharp, and feature neat gimmicks: the U8 can act as a boat in emergency situations and the U9 can jump thanks to a trick active air suspension. While both the U8 and U9 start north of $150,000, the U7 brings absurd performance at a more attainable price. The four electric motors—one for each wheel—combine for 1287 hp and 1239 pound-feet of torque, enough for the sedan to blast from zero to 62 mph in a claimed 2.9 seconds en route to a 167 mph top speed. That's a stellar result, especially since the U7 is a bit porky. It weighs around 6800 pounds and measures 207.3 inches long, about eight inches longer than a Porsche Panamera. A 135.5-kWh battery provides 447 miles on a charge, although that figure came via China's optimistic CLTC test cycle and would be shorter using the EPA's test procedure. The battery can charge at up to 500 kW and Yangwang claims it can charge from 30 to 80 percent in under 20 minutes, although given the claimed peak power draw, that time seems a bit longer than we'd expect. The U7 brings other goodies too, like rear-wheel steering and the DiSus-Z suspension system, which utilizes linear actuators instead of a traditional hydraulic damper like the DiSus-P system in Yangwang's other models. Along with providing an ultra-smooth ride and being height-adjustable, the system can stabilize the U7 if a tire blows by lifting the affected wheel and driving on the remaining three. The God's Eye driver-assistance system, meanwhile, makes use of three lidar sensors, five radar sensors, 13 high-definition cameras, and 12 ultrasonic sensors. This all combines to provide Level 2 hands-free driving capability. The cabin is dominated by rich red nappa leather and a trio of screens, with a 12.8-inch central display augmented by a 23.6-inch digital instrument cluster and a 6.0-inch screen for the front passenger. Available in four and five-seat configurations, the front chairs are 20-way adjustable and are ventilated, heating, and massaging. Along with a pair of 12.8-inch screens, the rear passengers get foldout tables and a mini refrigerator, and there are even "temperature sensing" armrests meant to keep you from getting too hot or cold. There's also a 23-speaker sound system. If you're not quite ready to commit to an EV, the Yangwang U7 is also offered as a range-extender plug-in hybrid. The PHEV retains all four electric motors—now hooked up to a 52.4-kWh battery—but adds a turbocharged 2.0-liter flat-four, chosen for its low, compact design. The battery alone provides 124 miles, and when the gas engine kicks in the U7 can travel 621 miles. It's a shame that the Yangwang U7—with its combination of handsome styling, brawny powertrain, capable suspension, and luxurious cabin—will almost assuredly never be sold here. And while it may not be entirely fair to compare the price directly to what's available in the U.S., it's hard to not be envious of Chinese EV shoppers when they can buy a vehicle as comprehensive as the U7 for less than $100,000. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
