Laguna Seca Raceway hosted a hillclimb contest which brought together a series of petrol-powered cars and electric vehicles. One of them was a Lucid Air Sapphire Prototype which was driven by none other than The Stig Ben Collins. The Sapphire also marks the release of a new performance division for Lucid. The electric super sports sedan does 0 to 60 mph in under 2 seconds, thanks to its tri-motor setup and likely over 1,200 hp. The final number will likely be more than that, but Lucid isn’t quoting any official figures yet. Lucid also says that the Sapphire runs from 0 to 100 mph in less than 4 seconds, and the quarter mile in less than 9 seconds.
To contain that power, the Lucid Air Sapphire comes with carbon-ceramic brakes as standard. The brakes themselves are made by Akebono, a company known for making brakes for the McLaren P1. The front setup uses 10-piston calipers while rear does it with a four-piston setup. There is also a track suspension included, along with staggered wheels wrapped in Michelin PS4S – 265/35R20 at front and 295/30R21 in the rear.
Of course, the performance through the corkscrew was impressive. The Youtuber mentions the balanced driving dynamics of the Sapphire, despite the neck-snapping performance. The acceleration pulled hard across the entire RPM range while the brakes were aggressive in providing adequate stopping power. Naturally, The Stig ran with the traction control off which allows plenty of spin wheel on the track.
No word on the EV range after the hot laps. But the Lucid Air Dream Edition covers around 500 miles on a single charge. It’s likely that Air Sapphire will have a lower range, but no official info yet. The price for the Lucid Air Sapphire is $249,000.
