Lucid Air Sapphire beats Tesla Model S Plaid and Bugatti Chiron in a recent drag race. The car set the production car record as it completes the quarter in 9.1 seconds. It has a tri-motor of 1,200 horsepower, quicker than the Tesla Model S Plaid.
Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport was known to be the quickest gas-burning car ever put into production, the record is not broken. The Bugatti has the most outright power, over 1,500 horsepower, and it would certainly win in a longer race where top speed was also important. However, in this instance, the three vehicles were tested over a quarter-mile, and on such a short distance, the Lucid Air Sapphire was the unquestionable winner.
By the end of the run, the Lucid was traveling at 156 mph (251 km/h), while the Tesla reached 152 mph (244.6 km/h). The Bugatti was clearly already quicker by the time they crossed the line, traveling at 156 mph. It managed to cross the finish line in 9.1 seconds, two-tenths quicker than the Tesla and Bugatti, both of which completed the race in 9.3 seconds, essentially making it a tie for second place. Interestingly, the Lucid isn’t that much quicker than the Tesla to reach 60 mph (96 km/h) from a standstill, as both get there in about 2.1 seconds, with a 0.03-second advantage to the former.
The race
The two EVs start the race side by side and the Lucid doesn’t start building a lead until the cars have picked up some speed. Both are still way quicker to sprint than the Bugatti. It launches extremely aggressively yet cannot match the other two cars’ ability to put their power down with their superior ability to control traction. So the Lucid Air Sapphire was predictably quicker than both vehicles lined up against it, but they also decided to see how a 210-horsepower Ducati Panigale V4 SP2 would compare.
Lucid obliterated both in the quarter mile despite weighing approximately 5,400 pounds (2,449 kilograms). The prototype in the featured clip rocks in excess of 1,200 horsepower from a three-motor setup. Scheduled to enter production in early 2023, the Air Sapphire carries a starting price of $249,000 in the U.S. and $325,000 in Canada. It was definitely a close run between these two vehicles, but the Lucid still won, even though by the end of the run the motorbike had achieved a higher speed of 157 mph (252.6 km/h), so it could have potentially caught up to the Air and passed it in a longer race.
