Lucid Gravity - the SUV that will compete with Tesla Model X

The Lucid Air owners are usually very happy with the car even if there aren't too many of them yet. The company delivered 360 vehicles in the first quarter of this year, with over 30,000 customers waiting patiently in line. Still, the production is ramping up and the future looks positive.

In the meantime, the company's designers and engineers are moving on to their next project - finalizing the next model in the lineup. The working name of the next Lucid is Project Gravity and it is going to be a large SUV based on the LEAP architecture of the Lucid Air. Both cars will share the underpinnings which will square the upcoming SUV against the well established Tesla Model X.

Once the Gravity is unveiled next year, we can expect it to have powertrains identical to the ones in Air - 480hp, 620hp, 819hp and the range topping 1,050hp with the 1,111hp reserved for the Dream Edition of Air initially, but it is possible this drivetrain will also come to the new SUV.

Driving range will likely be lower simply due to the fact the Gravity will be a much larger vehicle with a less aerodynamically efficient shape. The car is still in development though, with the battery technology progressing really fast, the Gravity may end up being a surprise. We should see 400 miles range in the base model though and the Lucid’s fast charging 300kW tech will be onboard to make sure we can add 300 miles in under 20 minutes.

As for prices we can expect it to be more expensive than Lucid Air, anything else would be a shock. With Lucid Air Pure currently starting at $87,000, the Gravity will most likely command at least a $10,000 premium and then you need to factor in constant price increases from all manufacturers. Electric cars won’t get any cheaper and realistically the new SUV will most likely start at just over $100,000.

Lucid has been focused on the luxury vehicle market with the aim to disrupt the medium size segment by offering larger interiors, comparable with large size segment cars. The Lucid Air sits on a platform that is roughly the size of Mercedes EQE but offers the space of the EQS and customers love that. But that segment is expensive and only a small percentage of the customers can reach it.

The company knows it and it has a plan - to introduce a small but high volume SUV, one that will compete with Tesla Model Y which is the most popular electric SUV at the moment. Lucid’s plans are well advanced and the company bosses are talking about at least 500,000 cars manufactured per year with an ambitious plan to reach 1 million units by 2030.

While the company remains committed to increasing the driving range of its models, it doesn’t have any immediate plans to change the motors. The focus will be on new, denser batteries that can deliver more power, can be charged quicker and can offer more mileage.

Erich Bach, the Senior Vice President of Product and Chief Engineer, believes we will see 3,000 or even 4,000 horsepower cars within the next few years. The driving force behind such powerful motors will always be the battery - small and dense and one that can withstand demands of so much power. That battery in an everyday car will mean more miles and longer life.

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