Lucid is continuing down its path of shipping a Tesla competitor, and the Air just underwent another milestone: High-speed testing. A performance-targeted prototype version of its flagship Air car, the first it’s intending to bring to production, hit Ohio’s 7.5-mile TRC test track to check out how it holds up under high-speed use, including a (software limited) top speed of 217 mph.
The performance testing is designed to help the team identify where the car is performing as expected in conditions that, while not likely to be encountered often in daily use, will still prove part of the appeal of the vehicle to its first customers. The Lucid Air will cost $52,500, once federal tax credits are applied, so while it’s not at the lofty height of the Tesla Model S, it’s still very much a vehicle owners will expect to keep up with others in the premium category.
The high-speed capabilities of the car also aren’t at odds with Lucid’s core goal of creating a vehicle that’s extremely efficient; to the contrary, Lucid says that the same things that make it an excellent performance vehicle will help it maximize its energy consumption when driven more normally, too.