Lucid Air EV gets 113-kilowatt-hour battery, maximizes interior space and storage
The company was able to do this by miniaturizing its drivetrain components for maximum space efficiency.
For Lucid, it's all about maximizing space efficiency inside, so the car doesn't get too big on the outside.
One of the most interesting byproducts of moving to electric vehicles is the freedom that designers are given to do things differently. Not all manufacturers have taken full advantage of this -- the Chevy Bolt and Nissan Leaf come to mind -- but others like Jaguar and Tesla have.
Lucid is trying to go a step further by taking its clean-sheet design for the Air and shaping its in-house drivetrain technology around the vehicle into something called the Lucid Space Concept, according to an announcement made on Wednesday. The announcement also noted that the Air will feature a compact 113-kilowatt-hour battery pack.
The idea is that doing design this way means that interior space is maximized relative to the size of the vehicle's exterior. Plus, it also makes for tons of storage. Lucid also says that the Air will have the largest frunk of any electric vehicle, with a volume of 9.9 cubic feet.
Part of the reason that Lucid can do this is because it's spent a lot of time and money miniaturizing its drivetrain. When you consider that a Tesla rear drive unit -- a very power-dense setup, indeed -- would fit inside a reasonably-sized suitcase (weight notwithstanding), any kind of size reduction would be impressive.
"It's relatively easy to achieve more range by adding progressively more batteries, but gaining 'dumb range' that way increases weight and cost, and reduces interior space," said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO of Lucid Motors, in a statement. "Lucid Air has achieved its remarkable range whilst also reducing battery size through its in-house technology, resulting in a breakthrough in overall vehicle-level efficiency."
That all sounds pretty cool and like it would be a significant leap forward for EVs if Lucid can pull it off at scale. We'll likely find out more about that along with all of the Air's other details during the online unveiling on September 9th.
If you're interested in watching the Air's unveiling, you can head over to the company's website and sign up for a personalized experience and a notification to watch.
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