Right now, Lucid offers four different Airs. At the bottom, we’ve got the brilliant, rear-wheel-drive-only Pure. From there is the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Air Touring. Above that sits our Grand Touring, which also has two motors but a lot more power. At the top of the range, we find the Air Sapphire, a limited-production, 1,234-horsepower, three-motor machine for lunatics who find supersport motorcycles to be a bit slow. It’s a hoot.
But the Air Grand Touring is no slouch, either. With 819 hp and 885 pound-feet of torque on tap, this massive executive sedan scampers to 60 in a supercar-quick 3.0 seconds flat. It’ll dispatch the quarter mile in just 11 seconds at 126 mph, and if the driver keeps their foot in it, it’ll rocket on to a top speed of 168 mph. That’s just lunacy in a 5,200-pound sedan, but lunacy is where the Air Grand Touring does all of its business.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
Straight-line speed isn’t the Air Grand Touring‘s only party trick when it comes to performance driving, either. It’s a lovely thing to take down a back road. The GT’s chassis is wonderfully suited for ripping up a twisty stretch of tarmac, with a fairly neutral demeanor when going through a corner. Sure, there’s a little bit of push from the front Pirelli P Zero all-season tires, but that’s to be expected. The Grand Touring rewards slow-in-fast-out driving. After hitting the brakes (or lifting off the throttle in one-pedal driving mode), turn the leather-wrapped flat-bottom steering wheel, hit the apex and harness all of that power to shoot out of the corner. Rinse and repeat over and over again, and it’ll be a great time.
Steering feel isn’t non-existent, but the rack is not very communicative, either. At the end of the day, this is a big luxury sedan, so it’s not going to be quite as talkative as a Porsche 718. Still, for what it is, the Air’s handling characteristics are pleasantly surprising.
Andy Kalmowitz / Jalopnik
Of course, where the Air Grand Touring really thrives is, well, grand touring. This side of a Rolls-Royce, there are very few cars that can waft down a highway as effortlessly as the Air GT. Its air suspension soaks up every bump and bit of uneven pavement as I make the treacherous journey from New York City to northeastern Pennsylvania. Both of these places are known for their terrible roads, but you wouldn’t know it from how the Air handles them. When you add in the fabulous Level 2 driver-assistance system (which is soon getting a hands-free upgrade), some of the best seats I’ve ever placed my ass in, and a noise floor low enough that even a church mouse would be impressed, you get a seriously fantastic place to spend time on a boring highway drive.
