Lucid unveils its newest competitor to Tesla, a high-performance luxury sedan boasting a 446-mile range.

• Lucid is introducing a new version of its highly sought-after Air luxury sedan.
• Since its launch last fall, the company's Air sedan has received positive feedback from critics, particularly due to the impressive performance of the 1,111-horsepower Dream Edition.
• U.S. deliveries of the new Grand Touring Performance model will begin in June.

Lucid is introducing a new version of its highly sought-after Air luxury sedan.

The Lucid Air Grand Touring Performance, unveiled on Tuesday, will feature 1,050 horsepower and a starting price of $179,000. The Air sedan has been praised by critics since its launch last fall, particularly for the impressive performance of the 1,111-horsepower Dream Edition.

The Dream Edition model was not easy to obtain, as Lucid capped its production at only 520 vehicles, which were all reserved months in advance before the first Airs were shipped from its Arizona factory in October.

The Grand Touring Performance, which closely resembles the Dream Edition and has a starting price only $10,000 higher, will not be as limited in production as previously stated.

Although the Air has left a significant mark in the luxury EV market's high-end segment, Lucid is still in the early stages of production. The company announced in late February that it had constructed approximately 400 vehicles since starting production in September and had around 25,000 reservations for the Air.

The company now anticipates delivering between 12,000 and 14,000 vehicles in 2022, which is lower than its previous forecast of 20,000 vehicles due to global supply-chain disruptions that have slowed the production of Air vehicles.

Peter Rawlinson, the CEO of Lucid, stated that the company decided to create a higher-performance model due to the continued demand for a top-of-the-line Air with a horsepower rating in the four figures.

Lucid's "vertical integration" allowed it to develop the new model rapidly, Rawlinson stated. Unlike most large automakers, Lucid manufactures its own electric motors and battery packs in-house.

The supply-chain challenges affecting automakers worldwide have resulted in performance adjustments to the Grand Touring Performance, but the new Air's specifications remain impressive.

• The Dream Edition's acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour in 2.6 seconds is slower than the claimed 2.5 seconds for the high-performance version.
• The high-performance Dream Edition has an EPA-estimated range of 471 miles, compared to 446 miles for the standard version.
• The advanced driver-assist system, DreamDrive Pro, of Lucid comes standard with a lidar sensor, which is much of the hardware required for fully autonomous driving.
• Lucid's 900-volt charging system, capable of adding up to 300 miles of range in just 21 minutes at a 350-kilowatt DC Fast charger, is standard.

The new Air outperforms most vehicles in various aspects, but falls short in acceleration. The Tesla Model S Plaid, launched last year, boasts an impressive 1,020-horsepower, an EPA-estimated range of 396 miles, a starting price of over $130,000, and a claimed zero to 60 time of 1.99 seconds.

The previously announced Lucid Air Grand Touring has a higher-performance variant called the Grand Touring Performance, which boasts 819 horsepower. This model has started shipping, according to Lucid.

U.S. deliveries of the new Grand Touring Performance model will begin in June.