Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Cars
  3. News

Lucid Motors’ electric car coming later this month, could have 1,000hp

By

Lucid Motors
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Many companies are targeting Tesla Motors with new electric cars, but Lucid Motors, the California-based startup formerly known as Atieva, may actually hit the bullseye.

The company plans to unveil an “executive sedan” December 14 and, if a new report from Automotive News (subscription required) is any indication, it could be quite the contender. The Lucid sedan will come standard with 1,000 horsepower and a 100-kilowatt-hour battery pack offering 300 miles of range, according to the industry trade journal.

Recommended Videos

That matches the largest available battery pack in the Tesla Model S, and exceeds that car’s maximum power output by a significant margin. With 1,000 hp on tap, the Lucid sedan will reportedly do 0 to 60 mph in under 3.0 seconds. Tesla quotes 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds for the top Model S P100D, along with a 315-mile range.

Related

Keep in mind that these specs reportedly apply only to the base model of the Lucid electric car. The company apparently plans to offer a version with a 130kWh battery pack, affording 400 miles of range. Lucid announced Tuesday that Samsung SDI would supply lithium-ion cells, and that it would use a new cell design with greater energy density and tolerance for repeated fast charging than current cells.

Lucid plans to start production in 2018, and is building a factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, for the purpose. The car will reportedly be sold directly to customers, just as Tesla does. But Lucid only plans to sell between 8,000 and 10,000 cars in the first few years, then gradually ramp up to about 60,000 cars per year, according to Automotive News.

The company is backed by Chinese billionaire Jia Yueting and his LeEco tech empire. Jia is also one of the main backers of Faraday Future, which plans to launch a Tesla-fighting electric car around the same time as Lucid, and is also building a factory from scratch. LeEco has been an enthusiastic backer of automotive projects, also partnering with Aston Martin and even designing its own concept car. But recent cash-flow problems could put an end to that.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Stephen Edelstein
Stephen Edelstein
Contributing Editor
Stephen is a freelance automotive journalist covering all things cars. He likes anything with four wheels, from classic cars…
Why General Motors won’t be showing its next electric car at CES
Cadillac electric crossover

Previous

Next

Read more
In exclusive interview, legendary racer tells us his plans for 1,000hp new Supra
Stephan Papadakis standing in front of a Toyota Supra

The all-new 2020 Toyota Supra has barely arrived in dealerships, but it’s already making a big impression. Car and Driver called it Toyota’s “best driver’s car ever.”  Starting around $50,000, the Supra is not in competition with the lightweight and affordable Toyota 86, but rather aims at the Porsche 718 Cayman and the BMW Z4. It’s well known that the Supra shares quite a bit with the BMW, and that has only driven interest higher.

The Supra B56 engine is a variation of BMW’s venerable inline six-cylinder, worked up to 335 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque with a twin-scroll turbo. Instrumented tests have the stock Supra hitting 60 MPH in 3.8 seconds, which isn’t shabby at all.

Read more
Tesla’s fix for faulty Cybertruck pedal is simpler than you might think
Tesla Cybertruck

Less than five months after handing over the first Cybertrucks to customers, Tesla has had to recall the electric pickup to fix an issue with the accelerator.

In a notice issued on Friday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said that the recall impacts Cybertruck vehicles manufactured from November 13, 2023, to April 4, 2024. This suggests that all -- or almost all -- of the 3,878 Cybertrucks being recalled are those that have been manufactured to date.

Read more