When we tried electric cars, the 2024 Lucid Air Sapphire was faster than the Tesla Model S Plaid, which was the previous record holder. The Sapphire and the Plaid both took 2.1 seconds to reach 60 mph, but the Lucid reached 100 mph a tenth of a second faster. Lucid’s 1234-hp all-wheel-drive car beat the other cars by seven-tenths of a second when it hit 130 mph, setting a new EV record for us. For good, the Lucid Air Sapphire is now in the record books at Invoice Pricing. The luxury electric sedan is now the fastest EV we’ve ever tried and one of the fastest cars ever made. It has three electric motors that send an amazing 1234 horsepower and 1430 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels in a single second. The Tesla Model S was thrown out A 2021 Tesla Model S Plaid was the fastest EV C/D had tested before. The Lucid went from 0 to 100 mph in 4.2 seconds and completed the quarter-mile in 9.3 seconds at 153 mph. The Sapphire was able to beat the Plaid’s amazing time of 2.1 seconds to 60 mph. It took the 1020-hp all-wheel-drive Tesla 4.3 seconds to go from 0 to 100 mph and 9.4 seconds to go the quarter-mile. These times are tenths faster than the current records. If you don’t think it’s important that the Sapphire beat the Plaid by a tenth in those tests, remember what Dominic Toretto said: “It doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile.” “Gaining is gain.” Even better, let the Sapphire’s other speeds show how fast it really is. After going faster than 120 mph, the ballistic Lucid started to separate from the Tesla fully. It reached 130 mph, seven-tenths faster in six seconds flat. While the speedometer read 140, 150, and 160 mph, the Sapphire stayed ahead by three, four, and five-tenths of a second. Our test car, the Plaid, could only go 162 mph, while the Sapphire could go 207 mph. That’s the end of the comparison. We have only tried a few cars that can go faster than 200 mph, so the Lucid is in a very special group. None of them got their power, only from electricity. This new Plaid with the $20,000 Track Pack also says it can go 200 mph. Being the fastest is nice, but Sapphire set a lot of records this year for both EV and car lap times at VIR during our Lightning Lap test. It’s also important to note that the Lucid beat the Tesla record even though the Sapphire weighed 517 pounds more (5345 pounds vs. 4828 pounds). Technical Editor Dan Edmunds led the electric rocket on its record-setting runs. How about less than two seconds at sixty miles per hour? Lucid says it can go from 0 to 60 mph in less than two seconds, but only on a speed strip that professionals have set up. In fact, our Edmunds was able to go from 0 to 60 mph in 1.9 seconds at one of these tracks. From what he said, this is what needed to be done. The NHRA drag track at Sonoma Raceway is covered in race rubber so thick that you could lose your shoes if they aren’t laced up tight. There is also a water box that lets controlled burnouts happen so that the tires can get hot. That was my best run from 1.9 seconds to 60 mph. It peaked at 9.05 seconds and 154 mph at the finish line, which were both good times. It felt like being shot from a gun that didn’t make any noise. Our testing base is meant to check out regular cars, not race cars. The road is still the same; there are no burnouts or water boxes. It’s not possible to test both ways on a drag strip, so we take the mean of the scores. Once you choose drag strip mode, the steps are the same, but the car will run in both directions and won’t heat up first. Hold down the brake, stomp on the gas, sidestep the brake, and hold on. Launch is best in drag strip mode, so you’ll need traction control. The tires will light up if you leave the lights on. My normal two-way time of 2.1 seconds to 60 mph is close to my drag strip time, especially since the track and tires aren’t as slippery. There was a difference of two-tenths of a second at the start of the quarter-mile, which was completed in 9.3 seconds at 153 mph. The problem is that it could have been better. In the morning, there was some light rain that made the ground cool and wet. It was cooler on the track than it would have been otherwise, but I couldn’t run until the sun had dried out the asphalt.
