In many ways, the Lucid Air is one of the most capable electric vehicles on the market. It’s luxurious, has more than a decent range, and offers an impressive performance. The electric sedan is now also available in Europe and there’s a new drag race coming from the Old Continent that attempts to answer one important question – can the Air Performance beat the Porsche Taycan Turbo S?
Carwow had access to the two rivals from the EV segment and decided to compare them on the drag strip in a direct drag battle. The two aren’t comparable in terms of price (we’ll get to that part in a minute) but the performance seems pretty similar. Let’s see the dry numbers first.
Gallery: 2022 Lucid Air Grand Touring: 2022 Motor1.com Star Awards
The Taycan in Turbo S trim is one of the world’s fastest production electric vehicles. It has a dual-motor setup with a peak output of 761 horsepower and 774 pound-feet of instant torque. It is quite heavy, though, tipping the scales at 5,060 pounds in this configuration. In the United Kingdom where this video comes from, the model is priced at $184,000 (148,000 British pounds).
The Lucid Air Performance is a newcomer in the luxury and performance EV market. It also features two electric motors for a combined system peak at 1,111 hp and 1,025 lb-ft of torque. It is slightly heavier than the Taycan at 5,254 pounds and significantly more expensive in the UK – $240,000 (193,000 British pounds).
As you can see, there’s a clear winner in terms of power. However, in drag races, power is not everything – traction and weight are also very, very important. Also, Porsche often lists quite conservative figures but its cars always deliver better than expected on the track. Obviously, this means this is going to be a very close race. Even closer than you'd expect.
