Lucid Motors keeps surprising with the performance of its all-electric sedan – the Lucid Air.
In their latest test, they hit a new record top speed of 235 mph (378 km/h), which is an impressive speed for an electric car – or any car for that matter.
Especially for a midsize sedan, but for an electric car comparison, the top performance version of the Tesla Model S has a top speed of 155 mph (249 km/h).
But Tesla’s vehicles, like most vehicles, have software-limited top speeds in order to prevent damage to the powertrain and overheat the battery pack.
Lucid removed those limitations in order to test its new vehicle platform, which resulted in this insane 235 mph (378 km/h) top speed.
They posted a video of the test performed at the Transportation Research Center (TRC) facility in Ohio:
https://player.vimeo.com/video/224890962
Under previous software controlled tests, Lucid Air reached a top speed of 217 mph (350 km/h). While it doesn’t mean that it will be the top speed of the production version, it is more representative than the test without software limitations.
They learned from the test and came up with improvements:
“Although the car performed wonderfully, we also found opportunities for improvement. For example, the self-leveling air suspension was not able to adjust quickly enough when running near 200 mph on a high-banked track, with heavy downforce pushing the car laterally against the track. We also found the front motor was running at temperatures higher than had been predicted in computer simulations.
Before heading back out for a second test, we made a few adjustments based on what we learned. The air suspension required a software update to improve responsiveness when loaded heavily. The front motor required updates to coolant flow and ventilation. New, aerodynamically efficient wheels were fitted. Last but not least, we removed the speed limiter to see what a Lucid Air alpha prototype was capable of achieving.”
To be fair, the vehicle also has a stripped-down interior with a roll cage, which is not exactly representative of the production version.
And as you may know, the Lucid Air’s interior is quite stunning and rich, which likely also translates to heavy. Nonetheless, those are impressive test results, now they just need to bring the car to production.
They are reportedly working on a $700 million round of funding in order to pay for their factory under construction in Arizona and bring the Lucid Air to production. We’ll see.
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