Things aren’t quite going well at Lucid yet. Although the testers praise the Lucid Air, the luxury sedan is not yet a bestseller. In the third quarter of this year, the American start-up only sold 1,457 units. So now the Gravity is supposed to do it, a luxury SUV with seven seats, lots of space and power.
“We looked at all the relevant SUVs and found that they always represent a compromise. Either on-road or off-road,” explains designer Derek Jenkins, pointing to a graphic showing the silhouettes of well-known crossovers. From the Porsche Cayenne Coupé to the Range Rover, all luxury cars can be recognized. The Lucid Gravity is intended to outdo all of these competitors, even if they usually still have an internal combustion engine as their power source. “Gravity is a significant step forward for Lucid’s world-leading technology and design,” said CEO Peter Rawlinson.
The Lucid Gravity has a low. Cd value of 0.24, which many electric sedans cannot achieve, not to mention SUVs. No wonder Lucid calls the stilt electric car SUV 2.0, which is supposed to offer a combination of luxury, performance, range, design and space. There is actually more than enough space in the approximately five meter long vehicle. An initial seat test shows that people taller than 1.80 meters have enough space in the third row. Even if the second row of seats is occupied by adults. If you fold the backrests of the second and third rows, an area around 2.29 meters long is created. A funny idea is the spacious frunk in which two people can relax and enjoy their luxury sparkling wine. The integrated ceiling shows that Americans also think about the little things.
Logically, the Lucid Air was the inspiration for the interior. Finally, the Gravity shares the Lucid Electric Advanced Platform (LEAP) architecture with the sedan. However, the technicians have further developed the ambience and the infotainment. One element is the significantly improved seating position on the Gravity. The curved instrument panel with the digital displays and the 12.6-inch central touchscreen has moved up and is now located above the steering wheel. During the first seat test, the monitors did not noticeably impede the view of the road. The infotainment system is supplemented by a head-up display with augmented reality, with flying arrows showing the way, as seen in Mercedes and Audi. It is certainly helpful that road boundaries are marked in bad weather.
Operating the infotainment should be easier than with the Air. The driver is now able to populate the top menu level of the touchscreen with apps according to his or her own liking. We appreciate the fact that Californians still rely on classic levers and buttons for their air conditioning. Just like the fact that the control satellites on the steering wheel now have a noticeable pressure point. “We do the electronics and software ourselves,” says Derek Jenkins. This also applies to voice control. “Alexa isn’t good enough,” smiles Jenkins. You’ll also (still) look for Chat GPT in vain. On the other hand, there is a vegan interior, which is available upon request.
Lucid’s idea of producing the central elements of an electric car itself is certainly clever. Since you don’t have to take any components or software off the shelf from a supplier, you can achieve the best possible range, which with Gravity will certainly be beyond 700 kilometers. The battery capacity will probably remain the same at 118 kilowatt hours. Thanks to the 900-volt technology, you can recharge electricity for around 320 kilometers within 15 minutes using a 350 kW fast charger. Like the Lucid Air, the Gravity will not be lacking in performance and the top model will cause a sensation on the streets with more than 1,000 hp. The Gravity accelerates from zero to 100 km/h in around 3.5 seconds and can tow more than 2.7 tonnes. “We learned from the Air and put that into the Gravity,” summarizes Eric Bach. It starts with aerodynamics and ends with the ASM (asynchronous machine) electric motors.
The electric motor is also self-made and very efficient. The engine’s energy density is 9.0 hp per kilogram, which is significantly better than the competition. According to Lucid, this value is 2.6 hp/kg for the Porsche Taycan, 1.1 hp/kg for the Hyundai and 3.2 hp/kg for the Tesla at best. “We have lower friction losses,” explains Bach. The Gravity will hit the market late next year and will cost less than $80,000.
