The new Lucid Air is the newly named 2022 MotorTrend Car of the Year. MotorTrend awarded its coveted Golden Calipers to the all-electric sedan amid a field of 24 candidates vying for the award. The Lucid Air also made history in the process. It's the first time a brand new automaker's very first product is the recipient of the prestigious award.
“Earning this coveted distinction for Lucid Air, our very first car, is a resounding endorsement of our ability to deliver the most advanced electric vehicles in the world,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO/CTO, Lucid Group. “Our objective of achieving range through efficiency and technical innovation is crystallized in Lucid Air, and we’re elated that this effort has been recognized by MotorTrend against such formidable competition from well-established automakers.”
MotorTrend Car of the Year judges evaluated six key criteria for Car of the Year, with Lucid Air "excelling at each": efficiency, value, advancement in design, engineering excellence, safety, and performance of the intended function. The other six finalists in the running for this year's award were the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, Mercedes-Benz EQS, Porsche Taycan, Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra and Toyota GR86.
“With the longest driving range of any electric vehicle on the market, an EPA estimated 520 miles, and over 1,100 horsepower available, the Lucid Air is a technological tour de force,” said MotorTrend Group Head of Editorial, Ed Loh. “The sleek futuristic Lucid Air sedan looks like nothing else on the road, while its gorgeous, smartly-packaged interior sets the standard for the next generation of luxury cars. Against our award's criteria, there could be no doubt—the Lucid Air is MotorTrend's 2022 Car of the Year.”
Lucid recently started customer deliveries of the Lucid Air. A press release describes it as "an EV with a revolutionary approach to automotive layout and engineering packaging that capitalizes on the miniaturization of Lucid's in-house developed EV powertrain and battery pack. The result is a large and luxurious interior cabin within a beautiful, streamlined exterior design along with a relatively compact footprint."
The Lucid Air Dream Edition Range is the longest-range electric vehicle ever rated by the Environmental Protection Agency. Lucid recently announced that with a 118kWh battery pack, it delivers 4.4 miles per kWh when equipped with 19” wheels, a mark surpassed only by another version of Lucid Air, the Grand Touring, which features a 112kWh battery pack and achieves 4.6 miles per kWh. The Dream Edition Performance model offers 1,111 horsepower, and Lucid’s testing indicates a 0-60 mph time of just 2.42 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 9.67 seconds (with the 21” wheels and tire package)—while still capable of an EPA-estimated 471 miles of range (with the 19” wheel and tire package).
Lucid Motors is building the Lucid Air at its factory in Arizona.
Photo Credit: Lucid Motors/MotorTrend