2024 Lucid Air Grand Touring Gets Killer Rate Sapphire Gear and Fast Charging

If a personal factor like money is not an issue, and one lives in the United States, then the Lucid Air family of cars is probably at the top of many buyers’ shopping lists. And with a series of upgrades announced this week for one of the models in the range, the Air becomes even more interesting.

Lucid sells the Air at the time of writing in four versions, namely Pure, Touring, Grand Touring (GT), and Sapphire. The entry level is, usually, Pure, which goes very cheap (for an EV) $69,900 and promises 419 miles (674 km) of driving range and a maximum power of 430 hp.

The Touring ups the power levels to a more impressive 620 hp, and gives us roughly the same maximum range (411 miles / 661 km) for $77,900.

At the top of the Lucid Air food chain is the triple-engined Sapphire, an EV beast capable of a maximum power of 1,234 hp and the longest range of the two, 427 miles (687 km). The price of this one matches its potential, as it is set at a staggering $249,000.

But if you’re really interested in a Lucid Air with more range and less power, you can easily get your hands on a model that’s more than half the price, but is also recognized as the only EV in America with an EPA rating. a distance of more than 500 miles – that would be 516 miles (830 km), even under the agency’s more stringent inspection procedures that should have technically shaved off several miles.

The model I’m talking about is the GT, of course, the one that sits below the Sapphire in the Air range. Sure, it offers a lot less power than its more powerful sibling (819 horsepower), but it’s got Sapphire-level upgrades for the new model year that make you forget all about low power ratings.

More to the point Lucid announced today that the GT is getting a heat pump from Sapphire, but it’s also on the receiving end of improvements to the engine, battery cell chemistry, and thermal characteristics.

All of the above helps the GT achieve up to 30 percent faster charging times than before, meaning it now needs just 12 minutes to add 200 miles (322 km) of range, the fastest time of the entire Air range. To make sure that’s achievable, Lucid also tweaked the car’s automatic air conditioning, which keeps it ready to charge.

With all of the above updates, the 2024 Lucid Air Grand Touring now has a starting price of $109,900, excluding tax, title, license, options, destination fees and documentation.