1.89 s to 60 on Lucid's terms, 1.881 s on MotorTrend's clock with track tires. 1,234 horsepower in a five-seat luxury sedan.
Lucid claims the Air Sapphire reaches 60 mph in 1.89 seconds claimed, runs the quarter mile in 8.95 s at 158 mph claimed and tops out at 205 mph claimed (Lucid). Lucid doesn't say where it timed the 0-60 or whether it subtracts rollout.
On ordinary pavement with Lucid's optional Track Tire package, MotorTrend recorded 1.881 s recorded and 9.03 s at 154.8 mph recorded (MotorTrend). On the standard Michelins, Car and Driver got 2.1 s recorded and 9.3 s recorded, with the first foot of rollout subtracted (Car and Driver). Its 2025 car on Pirelli track tires did 1.9 s recorded and 9.1 s recorded, tying a Bugatti Chiron Super Sport (Car and Driver). Three motors make 1,234 hp claimed, and the car costs $249,000 claimed before fees (Lucid).
The Sapphire is the top trim of the Lucid Air. When Lucid showed it at Monterey Car Week on August 19, 2022, its release called the car "the launch of an entirely new performance-focused brand within Lucid" and claimed "over 1,200 hp" (Lucid), with a $249,000 price (TechCrunch).
The first production car left the Casa Grande, Arizona line in October 2023 reported (InsideEVs), and Lucid handed the first cars to owners at an event at Sonoma Raceway reported (ArenaEV). Lucid doesn't say how many it has built. It comes in one color, Sapphire Blue.
Photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, Geneva 2024, cropped with background people blurred.
Every figure carries its label. claimed means Lucid said it. recorded is timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system. verified means an official body. reported is press we couldn't trace to a primary source. converted is a maker's 0-100 km/h claim converted to 0-60 mph. derived is our math. Here's how we label numbers.
Each bar fills at the real speed of that car's 0-60 time, from the race's lineup. The extra Sapphire bars are timed tests: track tires, a prepped strip and the stock Michelins. MotorTrend and Car and Driver subtract the first foot of rollout (MotorTrend states it on its testing page, not in its Sapphire stories). We haven't found Hagerty's basis, and Lucid's 1.89 s gives no surface or rollout.
MotorTrend wrote that "Lucid's advertised time relies on the same sleight of hand" as the Plaid's: a drag strip sprayed with traction compound (MotorTrend). Lucid has never published the conditions. On the standard Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires, testers on ordinary surfaces got 2.1 to 2.2 s.
Tires close the gap. With the $8,250 Track Tire package, Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS rubber on forged wheels, MotorTrend got 1.881 s and said the car finally "lives up to Lucid's claim of a sub-two-second 0–60 time, provided you splurge on the grippy shoes." DragTimes measured 1.77 s with the first foot of rollout subtracted and 1.93 s without it, on a prepped strip with the stock tires (Motor1).
The first slide is our own generated illustration, not Lucid photography or design data. The other two are real photos from the 2024 Geneva show, credited on each slide.
Tap a marker. Figures are Lucid claims unless noted. The photo is by Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0.
A single permanent-magnet motor drives the front wheels through a 7.0:1 single-speed gear. Lucid builds its motors in house; the front trunk still holds 10 cubic feet.
420 mm (16.5-inch) front rotors with 10-piston calipers and 390 mm rears with four pistons, standard. On track tires MotorTrend stopped from 60 mph in 93 feet, tying its best EV.
A California bear on each front fender, in the rear plate recess and on the headrests marks the Sapphire, along with a "Sapphire" script on the trunk lid.
Heated, cooled and massaging 18-way sport seats in leather and Alcantara, and a full rear bench for three. Car and Driver measured 22 cubic feet in the trunk and 10 in the front trunk.
An aluminum roof replaces the glass canopy of other Airs to save weight. The car still weighs about 5,340 pounds on the magazines' scales.
A twin-motor rear drive unit gives each rear wheel its own motor. Lucid says it can push the two wheels in opposite directions to help the car turn in or hold it straight.
Lucid claims 8.95 s at 158 mph. Independent testers have beaten the time on prepped strips, DragTimes with 8.93 s on the stock tires (Motor1), and nearly matched it in a May 2026 race against a Corvette ZR1X: 8.99 s at Apex Motor Club in Arizona (DragTimes, Carscoops). The 158 mph trap is harder: of the runs we found, only Hagerty's on asphalt matched it.
The track tires helped off the line but not at the top end. MotorTrend's prototype trapped at 157.1 mph on Michelins in 2023, and the Pirelli-shod car crossed the line at 154.8 mph even while running 0.18 s quicker derived (MotorTrend).
In February 2024 MotorTrend put a Sapphire against a Tesla Model S Plaid on a street-like surface: 9.27 s at 156.0 mph against 9.55 s at 150.2 mph, and a half mile 0.7 s quicker. Its verdict: "There's no question that the Lucid Air Sapphire is a better car than the Tesla Model S Plaid." It also asked, "But is it $160,000 better?" (MotorTrend). Two months later DragTimes beat a Plaid 8.96 s to 9.28 s on a prepped strip (Motor1).
Hagerty raced it against a Dodge Demon 170 in July 2024 and won on both surfaces: 9.2 s to 11.2 s on asphalt and 9.002 s to 9.721 s on a prepped strip (Hagerty). Against a Corvette ZR1X in March 2026 it was a dead heat at 9.1 s each (Hagerty). Past 150 mph the Lucid pulls away: Car and Driver's 0-200-0 test went to the Sapphire by 6.1 s over the ZR1X and 12.0 s over a McLaren 750S (Car and Driver).
The quickest regular Air for scale, then the Sapphire as delivered and with Lucid's track tires. Prices are Lucid's for the 2027 model year, before fees.
The long-range Air, and the car the Sapphire is built from.
Lucid figures (Lucid), claimed.
The car as it leaves the factory, on Michelins with a Lucid-specific compound.
Times recorded by Car and Driver in 2024 (Car and Driver).
A dealer-installed package of Pirellis on a second set of forged wheels.
Recorded by MotorTrend. Lucid's package price excludes installation; Car and Driver listed the tires as a $2,900 option.
Four years of claims, tests and rivals. Scroll sideways.
Lucid claims "over 1,200 hp," under 2 s to 60 and $249,000 claimed.
Hagerty's first test: 9.1 s at 156 mph, ahead of a Plaid and a Chiron Pur Sport.
9.2 s at 157.1 mph on a runway, its quickest quarter mile yet.
The first car leaves Casa Grande; deliveries start at Sonoma Raceway reported.
MotorTrend's comparison: 9.27 s against the Plaid's 9.55 s.
Car and Driver's test misses the 1.89 s claim on ordinary pavement.
DragTimes beats Lucid's quarter-mile claim on a prepped strip.
Hagerty: the Lucid wins on asphalt and on VHT.
A Lightning Lap record for EVs and four-door cars.
CEO Peter Rawlinson resigns reported.
1.9 s and 9.1 s on Pirellis, tying a Chiron Super Sport.
MotorTrend's track-tire test beats the claim and sets its 0-60 record.
Hagerty: 9.1 s each, too close for GPS to split.
25.7 s in Car and Driver's test, 6.1 s ahead of the ZR1X.
Third-quarter production falls 38% after Lucid cut a shift claimed.
Reaction split four ways. These are opinions, quoted with links.
"This latest Lucid sets the quickest quarter-mile we've ever seen from an EV, tying the $4.3 million Chiron hypercar at 9.1 seconds."Car and Driver, 2025, test results
Retelling Hagerty's Demon 170 race, InsideEVs wrote: "Over and over again, the Lucid nukes the Dodge from orbit" (InsideEVs).
"Lucid's advertised time relies on the same sleight of hand."MotorTrend, 2024, vs the Plaid
The sleight of hand is a prepped drag strip. Nineteen months later MotorTrend matched the claim on plain pavement, but only on optional track tires.
"But is it $160,000 better? Not by any kind of price-value scheme we can imagine."MotorTrend, 2024, vs the Plaid
MotorTrend still picked the Lucid. Car and Driver listed "quarter-million price" among the lows.
"The Sapphire needed a cooldown after a few runs, whereas the Taycan kept laying down numbers even with back-to-back passes."Car and Driver, 2026, 0-150-0 test
The same story said "The Sapphire straight-up teleports."
The consensus: nobody disputes that the Sapphire is the quickest sedan the magazines have tested, or that it handles better than a 5,300-pound car should. The arguments are about the fine print: a 0-60 claim with no stated conditions that stock tires can't match on ordinary pavement, a price two and a half times a Plaid's, and heat that limits back-to-back runs.
Lucid Motors · Aug 19, 2022 · 0:39
Hagerty · Dec 15, 2022 · 10:10
MotorTrend · Feb 15, 2024 · 13:07
Top Gear · Mar 13, 2024 · 28:17
DragTimes · Apr 16, 2024 · 8:27
DragTimes · Apr 21, 2024 · 10:40
Hagerty · Jul 11, 2024 · 15:47
DragTimes · Nov 7, 2024 · 17:42
Misha Charoudin · Aug 14, 2025 · 14:42
Hagerty · Mar 12, 2026 · 18:07
DragTimes · May 30, 2026 · 12:18
MotorTrend · Jul 2, 2026 · 10:34
On the stock tires, MotorTrend's car passed 60 mph 106 feet and 2.20 seconds after launch.
Car and Driver's Sapphire went from rest to 200 mph and stopped again in 25.7 seconds, "in less than a mile."
The EPA lists the three motors at 310, 310 and 330 kW, which is 950 kW together derived. Lucid rates the whole car at 908 kW, or 1,234 hp.
Regenerative braking is always on; there is no coast mode. Car and Driver listed it first among the car's lows.
MotorTrend's trap speed fell from 157.1 mph on Michelins to 154.8 mph on Pirelli Trofeos, even as the time dropped to 9.03 s.
Car and Driver's 9.1 s quarter matched its Chiron Super Sport, the magazine's previous quarter-mile king, and the Lucid was ahead in the hundredths.
Its 2:40.2 at Car and Driver's Lightning Lap set the records for EVs and four-door cars, ahead of a Lamborghini Revuelto.
Lucid says the twin rear motors can send torque to the rear wheels in opposite directions to sharpen turn-in or steady the car.
In Car and Driver's 0-150-0 test the Sapphire needed a cooldown after a few runs; the Porsche Taycan it beat did not.
In our quarter-mile model the Air Sapphire finishes 13th of 21, using MotorTrend's 9.03 s on track tires. The car just quicker and the car just slower:
McLaren W19.00 s at 160 mph estimate. Read the profile
Xiaomi SU7 Ultra9.20 s at 157 mph estimate. Read the profile
Card photos: McLaren W1 by MrWalkr, CC BY-SA 4.0, edited.
Lucid claims 1.89 seconds but does not say where it was timed or whether it subtracts rollout. MotorTrend recorded 1.881 seconds on ordinary pavement with Lucid's optional Track Tire package. On the standard Michelin tires, Car and Driver recorded 2.1 seconds with the first foot of rollout subtracted, and MotorTrend 2.2 seconds.
Lucid claims 8.95 seconds at 158 mph. MotorTrend recorded 9.03 seconds at 154.8 mph on track tires, and Car and Driver 9.1 seconds at 155 mph. On prepped drag strips, DragTimes ran 8.93 seconds and Hagerty 9.002 seconds. On the standard tires and an ordinary surface it runs about 9.2 to 9.3 seconds.
Yes, in every head-to-head test we found. In MotorTrend's 2024 comparison the Sapphire ran the quarter mile in 9.27 seconds to the Plaid's 9.55 and the half mile 0.7 seconds quicker. DragTimes beat a Plaid 8.96 seconds to 9.28 on a prepped strip. The Plaid costs far less: MotorTrend listed base prices of $91,630 for a new Plaid and $250,500 for the Sapphire.
Lucid claims 205 mph. Car and Driver measured governor-limited top speeds of 207 mph in 2024 and 208 mph in 2025, and its Sapphire went from 0 to 200 mph and back to a stop in 25.7 seconds.
Lucid lists the 2027 Air Sapphire at $249,000 fully equipped, before destination and fees. MotorTrend and Car and Driver tested cars priced at $250,500. The optional Track Tire package costs $8,250 plus installation. In Germany the car costs 250,000 euros.
Lucid claims 1,234 hp and 1,430 lb-ft from three motors: one on the front axle and two in a rear drive unit, one for each rear wheel. The battery holds 118 kWh, and the EPA rates the car at 427 miles of range.
Labels. Claimed: Lucid or another maker said it. Recorded: timed on an actual run: an instrumented test, a certified or verified record run, or a maker's own pass on a drag strip's timing system, with the tester, place and conditions named. Converted: a maker's 0-100 km/h (62.1 mph) claim converted to 0-60 mph. Verified: an official body, here the EPA. Reported: press reporting we couldn't trace to a primary source. Derived: our math. Estimate: modeled for our race because no published figure exists. Both are explained in the methodology guide. Race figures come from the lineup in our quarter-mile simulator, which uses Lucid's 1.89 s and MotorTrend's 9.03 s at 154.8 mph, rounded to 155. Compare every car in the race on the all-cars page. Sources disagree on three counts: the track tires cost $8,250 with forged wheels according to Lucid and MotorTrend, but Car and Driver listed the tires as a $2,900 option; the price was $249,000 at launch and is $249,000 again for 2027, but 2024 and 2025 test cars were listed at $250,500 with destination; and curb weights run from 5,333 to 5,345 pounds.
Images. Side photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, with background people blurred. Front photo: Matti Blume, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped. Rear photo: Alexander-93, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, with background people blurred. Our edits of these photos are shared under the same license. The hero and the front studio view are our own generated illustrations, not Lucid photography or design data. None are Lucid photos.
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