Gary Zhou 
Lucid Motors has released details on the powertrain it will use for its first electric vehicle, the Air. Lucid will be fitting the top configuration of the vehicle with a Dual-Motor, All-Wheel-Drive powertrain capable of 1,080 horsepower. The Air has also been able to complete consecutive quarter-mile runs in less than 10 seconds.
Since 2016, Lucid has been designing the Air and fine-tuning the 113 kWh battery pack of the vehicle’s powertrain and all-electric in preparation for entry into an increasingly competitive market. The automaker has slowly published various details about the Air and its capabilities over the past few weeks, beginning with its 517-mile range and interior features. Now, Lucid is getting to the good stuff and is detailing its all-electric powertrain, which is the fastest to ever complete a quarter-mile.
The quarter-mile record was set by the Air’s Dream Edition variant at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California. Not only did the Air manage to set the record for the fastest quarter-mile time for an EV, but it beat the Tesla Model S and Porsche Taycan in the process.
Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO at Lucid, said that the company’s watchword has been “focus” since day one. But the focus goes much further than creating a fast performance vehicle.
“Our watchword has been ‘focus’ since day one at Lucid – a focus on sound engineering principles, a focus on creating efficiencies, and a focus on maximizing power to create a world-class EV,” Rawlinson said.
Lucid’s focus has been on developing a platform that illustrates the transformation that the technical teams in the business have been focusing on for the last three and a half years. A 900V+ electric drive unit at the heart of the Air which is small enough to fit over 650 horsepower in regular suitcase packs. The Lucid powertrain has significant advantages over any car on the electric vehicle market, at speeds capable of up to 20,000 RPM.
“When the Lucid Air comes to market next spring, the world will see that we have developed the best electric vehicle technology possible by a wide margin and effectively created a new benchmark for EVs. The result is nothing short of a technological tour de force in every facet upon which a luxury performance car is measured,” Rawlinson said.
Creating efficiency with every part of an electric vehicle was crucial to Lucid’s mission to develop a world-class powertrain. The Air’s internal parts can achieve high-performance through a series of new inventions that are part of lucid’s intellectual property.
“Most notably, an elegant and revolutionary new motor winding technology has been introduced to maximize power output and reduce electrical losses. The motor also features an innovative cooling system that more effectively removes heat from the stator winding, minimizing losses and boosting efficiency,” the company said in a release.
The compact design paves the way for the electric drive unit to take up as little room as possible while powering the Air to new heights.
“This is achieved in part by the transmission and differential, which have been fully integrated for the first time in an electric motor – together, they comprise a single rotational system that is both lightweight and extremely efficient. Meanwhile, Lucid leverages a high voltage, silicon-carbide MOSFET system in its inverters to maximize efficiency, especially in real-world driving conditions,” Lucid said.
Lucid will debut the Air during an online reveal event on September 9, 2020. In addition to the Air’s finalized interior and exterior designs, Lucid will also release new details about pricing, production specifications, and available configurations during the event.
Reported by Teslarati.
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