Lucid Air Pure tops Tesla Model S in range: 410 miles, under $80,000

Lucid Motors on Thursday confirmed that the base single-motor rear-wheel-drive Pure version of its Air electric luxury sedan will offer 410 miles of EPA-rated driving range—more than a Tesla Model S—for less than $80,000.

The Lucid Air Pure RWD is available to order now with a base price of $78,900 (including a mandatory $1,500 destination charge). That's $5,000 less than the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Air Pure.

Lucid Air Pure

An 88-kwh battery pack provides a Lucid-estimated 410 miles of range on the standard 19-inch wheels (20-inch wheels are also available)—five miles more than the Model S, while requiring less battery capacity. The dual-motor Tesla is slightly less expensive than the Lucid at the moment, starting at $76,380 with destination, but Tesla's prices seem to fluctuate to a greater extent than Lucid's.

The single motor sends 430 hp and 406 lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels, getting the Air Pure from 0-60 mph in a manufacturer-estimated 4.4 seconds, and on to a top speed of 144 mph.

Standard 250-kw DC fast charging can recover up to 200 miles of range in 15 minutes of charging, or 150 miles in less than 12 minutes, according to Lucid. Other standard features include the 34-inch curved display previously seen on other Air models, heated front and rear seats and steering wheel, and Lucid's DreamDrive driver-assist features.

Lucid Air Pure

The Air is unparalleled in its propulsion tech—which the company will be supplying to Aston Martin for future EVs. In its launch edition and Grand Touring guise, the Air is the highest-range EV ever rated by the EPA, with a 520-mile rating for the Dream Edition Range launch version and 516 miles for the regular-production Grand Touring. In a follow-up drive of the Air Grand Touring model, we also found that Lucid is continuing to improve the interface.

The Air lineup now consists of the base Pure, along with Touring and Grand Touring models, with the tri-motor Lucid Air Sapphire on the way. With 1,234 hp and 1,430 lb-ft of torque, it takes aim at not only at the Tesla Model S Plaid, but also internal-combustion sports sedans like the BMW M5 and Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing.