Lucid Air Alpha Speed car

[Vman455]

I don't know how this slipped by me, but I just today came across this car. It's been posted about exactly once here, by kachi22 in the Interesting Aerodynamic Cars thread, but I found some more pictures of it.

Apparently, Lucid tested this car at 217 mph a year ago, and then a few months later got to 235 mph. They haven't brought a production Air to market yet, but have shown one several times, and we can note the differences between that and this Alpha Speed.

No mirrors:





Solid wheels:





And a tail extension:





(Overhead view):



I notice it also has front dive planes, but I think those are probably for stability (reduction of front lift).

It looks like the front bumper cover might have been reshaped in the area where the (production. Someday?) Air has DRLs:





The Air has an air suspension, and I can't find if any modifications were made to that for these tests. I also can't find a quoted drag coefficient for the stock Air or Alpha Speed.

[kach22i]

The Lucid reminds me of a Chrysler design study inspired by the larger Tesla automobile, but in a flattering way.

Lucid Air
February 17, 2017
https://revsinstitute.org/news/lucid-air/

Overseeing the Air’s development is Peter Rawlinson, an English engineer with experience at Lotus, Jaguar and, most importantly, Telsa during the design of the Model S. Describing the Air he told Fortune magazine to, “Picture what an ‘executive jet would feel like on four wheels.’”.......

Jenkins, whose portfolio includes Audi, Volkswagen and Mazda, explained how the Air’s exterior design had to look forward to the future and tech, but also, “celebrate the automobile.”..............

You can prowl through the Lucid story at https://lucidmotors.com/car, check out photos and even reserve a car. You’d shell out a $25,500 deposit to claim one of the initial 255 “Launch Edition” models or $2,500 for a “Standard” version. Final prices will be $160,000 for the Launch machines, around $100,000 for Standard. Lucid hints at a $65,000 model in the future.

All that for a car for which the factory has yet to be built. We want to believe it and we will when….........

Some of the design story here:
https://lucidmotors.com/stories/desi...d-air-part-one

Part 2 of the story here:
https://lucidmotors.com/stories/desi...d-air-part-two



Head designer, no Chrysler content (see article below) but that doesn't mean some of the pens in the office don't have some Chrysler in their work portfolio.


Hey Derek Jenkins, how did you get to be the Design VP of Lucid Motors?
Start-up automobile company Lucid Motors has a lot to live up to. Fortunately, Derek Jenkins is making it all look good.
by Emme Hall
October 26, 2017
https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/h...-lucid-motors/