Lucid Air Pure underestimates the Model S in terms of price and performance, and it’s on the way

California’s Lucid Motors, which just last week started taking pre-orders for its most expensive model, the quarter-million-dollar Air Sapphire, plus 1,200 horsepower, may have already started production on a low-priced version of the Air Pure. most affordable, under $90,000.

In a Twitter post on Friday, the company provided a glimpse of an upcoming Lucid Air in the production line with a solid aluminum roof. It’s a distinct variation from the glass roof built into the Air Dream Edition and Grand Touring models the company has created to date. And considering that the solid roof will come later for the mid-range Air Touring but has been a distinguishing feature of the Air Pure from the start, all signs point to the latter.

Here # Labor weekendWe honor people who roll up their sleeves and get the job done. #DreamAhead pic.twitter.com/EGKJ8r9kI5

– Lucid Motors (@LucidMotors) September 2, 2022

Lucid confirmed with Green car report that the car pictured with CEO/CTO Peter Rawlinson and chief engineer Eric Bach is actually an Air Pure.

Yes, that’s the version that starts at $88,900, including a $1,500 destination fee. The Lucid Air Pure will be available in a single-engine rear-wheel drive configuration, flagged in Lucid’s build engine for “later availability”—so it’s likely that these early Pure versions will be optional. choose the $5,500 dual-motor four-wheel drive, bringing the total to at least $94,400.

The Pure is the entry point to the squad but is not stripped; that’s the package that CEO Rawlinson chose to be “the purest expression of Air,” as its flatter battery pack – shared with the Touring – allows for more rear legroom. It’s also lighter and more company-friendly emphasis on efficiency. In the not-too-distant future, its technology could help enable mass-market electric cars to go further with smaller batteries than rival models.

Lucid listed the Air Pure as achieving an expected range of 406 miles – not confirmed by the EPA, but coincidentally 1 mile longer than the Tesla Model S. power is somewhere near the listed 88 kWh its capacity, while the Model S has a usable capacity of about 95 kWh.

2022 Lucid Air

And even though Tesla show a competitive advantage when Lucid announced the details of the Air for the first time, since Lucid raised the price again. Right now, a non-plaid Model S starts at $106,190 — the equivalent of an apple, a nearly $12,000 difference between the dual-engine versions with more than 400-mile EPA range.

This shows that the car manufacturer has yet to make an official announcement about the production time or the factory release time. According to Lucid, both Air Touring and Air Pure will launch later this year, and while the company’s increase in production hasn’t come as quickly as originally planned, it’s a good sign of growth. Combinations of models are being made.

In the final update, both Lucid Air Touring and Grand Touring are slated for Q4, but it is possible that the automaker may have skipped the first Pure for supply chain and manufacturing reasons. Output was slower than expected. Earlier this year, the company singled out glass as one of the items it was having trouble procuring.

Lucid Air in production – Casa Grande, Arizona

Lucid last month halving the 2022 production estimate, reported continued logistics and supply chain challenges. The company now expects to deliver between 6,000 and 7,000 vehicles by 2022, and by the end of the first half of this year has delivered 1,039 vehicles – equivalent to a total of 1,164 Air models delivered so far.

Finding a buyer is definitely not the problem. As of August 3, Lucid has reported more than 37,000 bookings, an increase of about 7,000 from the previous quarter, and despite raise prices up to $15,000 on the model line.

Note that many people will be getting the Pure for $10,000 less than its current $88,900 price, as Lucid has allowed those who pre-ordered it through June 1 to lock in the price.

Lucid currently has an installed capacity of 34,000 vehicles annually, if it overcomes those issues and increases its Phase 2 expansion capacity to 90,000 vehicles per year — including space to build Gravity SUV—Planned for early 2023. It is also built on a Factory Saudi Arabia that would be able to make up to 155,000 vehicles.