Lucid Motors — the company that was previously known as Atieva, and is known for videos of a retrofitted Mercedes van dubbed Edna beating various super cars in drag races — recently gave the public its first real look at the luxury sedan that the company is developing (at the Los Angeles Auto Show).
It was a limited first look, but enough to get some idea of what the company is going for — which seems to be the luxury segment that the Tesla Model S is rapidly swallowing.
It seems there will be quite a number of distinguishing features in the new sedan from Lucid Motors, though, so perhaps it can sell well (if the company’s lack of manufacturing presence is worked out).
With regard to that, the company’s chief technology officer, Peter Rawlinson — formerly part of the team at Tesla that developed the Model S — recently gave an interview to Fortune that provided some interesting details. While the details about basic specs — a 0–60 time of under 3 seconds, a 300 mile range (87 kWh battery pack), and 900 horsepower — are more or less what was assumed, the bit about internal space was interesting.
Rawlinson claimed in the interview that the sedan (the Atvus) will on the interior resemble what an “executive jet would feel like on four wheels.”
Our sister site Gas2 provides more: “Fortune got a look at the prototype car inside Lucid’s research and development garage, which is conveniently located in Fremont, California, within shouting distance of the Tesla factory. Fortune reports the car, which is scheduled to go on sale in 2018, ‘has an ultra-spacious backseat cabin, unusual new headlight technology inspired by insect eyes, a sweeping glass windshield and roof, and a futuristic front face.’ … The result is an almost shocking amount of passenger space in the rear seat area. Derek Jenkins — formerly head of design at Mazda — says the car is about as long on the outside as a midsize car like the Audi A7 but has as much room on the inside as a full-size car with a long wheelbase.”
That sounds interesting, and like it would well be enough to carve out a niche thanks to those who desire such things (and have the money to throw around).
All of that said, while a launch date of 2018 has been stated, the company’s production situation remains a mystery — there has been practically nothing revealed on that count to date. Another question — given that the Chinese billionaire behind LeEco and Faraday Future is reportedly one of the main funding sources behind Lucid Motors — is whether the recent financial problems that halted construction at the new Faraday Future facility in Nevada will also impact Lucid Motors.
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