We Gave A NASCAR Driver An 819-Horsepower Electric Car To Test Drive On The Track, Here’s What He Thought

One of The Autopian’s fearless leaders, Matt Hardigree, had a Lucid Air back in the summer of 2023. He came to Chicago with it for the inaugural NASCAR Street race and asked me to meet him for an Autopian meet-up. He brought me to some famous hot dog place where there were no seats and I couldn’t eat any of the food, but the company was nice. Eventually, I had to head back to get dinner as the next day I would be racing on the track. He offered to drive me back to my hotel because the biblical rain that would plague that whole weekend had arrived.

I hopped in the back with a few others and, as I got in, remarked: So this is a Lucid Air? Interesting. I had heard of them and seen photos online but had yet to see one in the wild or experience it. From the back seat, you first realize that it’s roomy. Like the old World State Room, it is big and has lovely to-the-touch materials. It’s a seriously pleasant place to be.

Matt’s synopsis of the Lucid Air was that it was a great EV but a profoundly dumb car, mostly because of annoying little software issues. I’m a NASCAR driver, I don’t even get a speedometer, so I assumed he was just being his usual persnickety self. Then, earlier this year, I told Matt about a crazy video idea I had (It will be out later this month or early January, and it involves me handing people lots of money to drive fast) and that I needed a car. We hit up many OEMs, but getting a press car in the tri-state area in November becomes difficult as they put away all the high-performance stuff for the year, except one manufacturer that said, “Yeah, you can have it!”

That was Lucid, who allowed us to use a Lucid Air Grand Touring. So I brought it up to one of America’s most historic racetracks at Lime Rock Park, because where else would you bring a luxury EV that Matt has termed as “Profoundly Dumb.”

I’m dumb, too, and two wrongs always make a right. Or is it a left? I’m a NASCAR driver; we are more comfortable going left. If you just thought to yourself “That’s a dumb joke” then you’re right, but is the car still dumb or has Lucid worked out its small issues?

First Impressions

Upon getting the car, I drove it from New Jersey to my home in Stamford, Connecticut. Like many modern electric cars there’s that awkward feeling of doing something wrong by not doing anything at all. The car is so smart that it opens as you walk up so it’s basically “on” when you sit down. There is no button to push, nothing. This continues to be a weird experience for me. Even an iPhone requires you to show your face to get inside.

Immediately, it feels like all high-end electric cars in that it’s incredibly quiet. That silky smooth acceleration is followed by the first time you let off the accelerator, and the regenerative braking kicks in as the car slows itself to provide more energy to the batteries.

The regen braking is intense in normal mode and fierce in high mode. Turning it off it feels like you have released a rubber band from the accelerator and the car will coast forever. So I kept it on normal mode. As I drove along, one thing stuck out: the size.

Interesting, though, it’s the same size as a Tesla Model S. But for whatever reason, it sometimes feels bigger. Hence, it felt roomy when I sat in the back in 2023. They achieve that by better interior packaging.

Like many electric cars, the power is immediate when you want to go fast. But I would be lying if I said that in this regard it felt any different from a high-powered Tesla, Taycan… or any high-powered electric car. Even as a race car driver with a highly attuned sense of speed, there’s a point of diminishing returns with fast EVs where they all feel simply fast.

But “performance” is more than just 0-60 times and Lucid has a bunch of world class suspension engineers. The company even got help from The Autopian’s Huibert Mees at one point, so my expectations weren’t exactly low.

How Does It Drive On A Track?

Electric cars are tough to review on a track because they all feel fast in terms of propulsion, and that speed is instantaneous. Deciphering the difference is like choosing between hair dryers (not making an appliance joke); they all blow hot air. Still, those Dyson hair dryers do feel nicer in your hands, and that’s where you realize the actual difference is.

To enter the fastest mode in the Lucid that unleashes all 819 horsepower and 885 lb/ft of torque, press “Sprint Mode” on the massive screen in the middle of the console. It’s a bit anticlimactic, as almost nothing happens. The interface changes slightly, but there are not many indicators you are in this mode. However, it does unlock the launch control, which works like many electric cars: you hold the brake and accelerator at the same time. A ding noise occurs, and a little bear pops up on the screen, letting you know it’s ready to launch. This is good because those who have driven high-powered Teslas and the like know what happens next.

Release the brake, and you’re propelled so deep into the seat that you’re fairly certain your head must have touched the trunk. Then, as you are being turned into the human equivalent of a panini sandwich, you have to lift off and turn for a corner.

Immediately as you hit your first fast corner, it’s apparent Lucid values the driving experience and handling more so than Tesla, which is hell-bent on removing the human from the driving equation.

You can feel it in the wheel. It constantly gives you feedback on where the tire is in its traction circle journey and as those rubbery things squeal from the 4500 lbs of electric batteries and car, begging them to change direction. It’s not quite Porsche Taycan nimble, but it feels far more alive than a Tesla.

Especially in high-speed corners, where it gets a bit of oversteer, that feels almost like a pendulum effect that I’m guessing is from where all those heavy batteries are placed. Then, in the lower-speed corners, the computers won’t let you do anything other than understeer. I assume this is also from the setup of the suspension and is designed to counteract that same pendulum effect.

This isn’t a bad thing, though, because as I drive more of these electric cars, I’ve come to respect them on race tracks for the simple reason that they are incredibly simple to drive fast. If this were a gas-powered monster M5, I’d talk about all three phases of a corner and its reaction from entry to the center and exit. But in electric cars, there are only really two parts to a corner.

The entry, where you try to slow all that weight, and then the exit, where you’re trying to get the car straight enough that the computer will give you all the power, and you’ll warp speed to the next corner. Now, some pro drivers will want to incinerate me for this, but when there’s no build-up in power and the car’s weight makes min-corner speeds a challenge you’re best bet is to just lean into the mad acceleration and use it to your advantage.

When my new crazy video is released, you will see how easy this car is for total noobies to drive fast. I’m telling you, if you’re a shit driver and want to impress your friends at a racetrack you should buy a high-powered electric car–you’ll look like Verstappen compared to them.

Is it as fun as a gas-powered car? Not if you value the art of driving. Because unlike a manual Porsche 911 or Miata, there’s just little for you to do. The car does much of the heavy lifting by adjusting the power in the corners and helping you turn.

It’s the ultimate racetrack vehicle for dummies. Maybe Matt was onto something?

How’s The Interior?

That’s the funniest part about driving this car on a track. After it’s led you to believe you can be the next F1 world champion. You’ll slow down, look around, and think, well, isn’t this just a lovely place to be? The interior and materials are like a Restoration Hardware and a BMW had a baby. It even smells like a BMW.

This is a good thing, considering that the type of people who buy $20,000 couches are the same type who would want a $125,000 electric sedan. The infotainment systems are very intuitive and remind me slightly of a better version of the Range Rover Pivi system.

Although the sizeable main center console screen is a bit low, when you are driving and want to adjust anything, you do have to turn your head far enough down that it feels uncomfortable to me. Assuming you don’t crash while doing this, you will find the most robust massage seats I’ve ever seen.

There are numerous settings, and the massagers work over the whole back of the seat and underneath your buttocks and hips. Matt said this is a dumb feature in cars, but I dunno; after filming two long days at LimeRock, I had these on the entire hour-and-a-half drive home and was quite happy to have a robot rub my back and hips. They are a step above the usual car seat massagers that feel like a rubber hammer is being shoved through the seat. I found them to be very soft and have a wide range of settings that each feel very different.

Then, as I mentioned when I sat in the back of Matt’s car in 2023, the back is incredibly roomy. I am 5’9” and think I could comfortably lie down and nap. We even fit four large males back there at one point. If you have this car to be chauffeured in, you won’t quite have the personalized seating of an S-Class, but you will feel more comfortable than the Cadillac’s car services use.

How Does It Look?

This has to be one of the sleekest and classiest cars you can buy anywhere in the world, and I’m not just talking about EVs. After filming the following weekend, my girlfriend and I went to Westport, Connecticut, for errands. Westport is home to the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates. I mention this because it gives you an idea of the demographic of the town. It’s also where I grew up.

Westport is where any technological invention made for people concerned about the environment shows up first. It’s a very wealthy town full of people who like to move money around on Excel sheets, heat their pools via solar panels, and drive the latest electric cars. It fits every stereotype you’ve seen in the movies, from every lawn and house being perfect, to every high schooler driving $60,000+ cars wearing Uggs and spending the equivalent of college tuition at Starbucks. On the day we were there, you couldn’t walk a foot without bumping into a Rivian.

Westport is also one of the top cities in CT for EV registrations. So when we were there, I wondered how the Lucid would be received; I was shocked by how many people I noticed glancing at it. Even though it’s not shouty at all, I could see their faces express the thought, “That’s not a Tesla; maybe it’s a Rivian; what’s a Lucid?”

Somehow, it manages to stick out in a sea of Teslas, Rivians, and every hybrid. Like a high-end jacket, you can tell it’s different from afar, but unless you were trying to look, it could also just look like a jacket.

As we went around town, I almost felt the car smiling as it felt so very at home. Or maybe that was me, the NASCAR driver from a town that doesn’t know NASCAR exists, smiling because I was finally fitting in.

Eventually, we spent all the time one could at William and Sonoma buying insanely over-priced scented candles before stopping in the latest men’s athleisure store for a button-down that is made of workout material (I’m just a super basic millennial). Turning to leave downtown, I looked across the intersection, and a Lucid Air was staring at me in the face. One of the first I’ve seen in the wild apart from the one I was sitting in. Neither of us acknowledged each other, but I’m sure the man in the other one thought, “That’s it, I’m not unique anymore. What’s the next EV no one has heard of that I can buy?”

The clientele of this car is aimed at those who live in Westport, CT. From my day there with it, I know by this time next year, there won’t just be two of us in a Lucid.

How Well Does The Tech Work?

Most of the tech within the Lucid is on par with other luxury cars, although this one was equipped with DreamDrive Premium, including “3D surround view monitoring,” which involves parking assist. By my math this system is great 99% of the time, working right up until I had to parallel park this long car in a tight spot. Well, tight is relative. It probably could have fit two Camrys nicely. Nonetheless, as I attempted to get into this spot and backed in, I utilized the 3D monitoring, mirrors, and eventually, my eyes. Then disaster, a loud noise, a slam of the brakes by the car–oh no I’ve hit the car behind. I then asked myself how that was even possible. I must be a football field away.

Not quite, but I discovered the car did not like getting within 10 inches of the car behind me with the rear bumper. Every time I did, it would yell loudly and slam the brakes for me, which felt like hitting something.

This made a simple parallel park into a battle of man vs. computer, and I screamed at it that I had plenty of room. I got the car parked, but I think this software needs a few updates to be more lenient.

The Best Part

The battery life is insane… I honestly think you may never need to charge it. This might be the first human device that has solved perpetual energy. This 2024 version is rated to 485 miles, and the 2025 has an estimated 512 miles.

And you notice it. I know Tesla has all but removed range anxiety with their Supercharger network, but having spent time with those, I always pay attention to the range meter as it ticks down, and getting in on a cold morning, I’m used to seeing a loss of range.

When I first picked up the Lucid, I was paying attention to it, but I eventually got the impression I wouldn’t need to because it simply would not go down. Then, on our first day of filming at LimeRock, we charged it when we got there.

Once we started filming, it was 100%, after spending the whole day in sprint mode and pounding around the track. It was only 77%

Then, the next day, we did the same thing–it got down to around 77% again; we charged it a bit before leaving up to around 90+, and then we drove the hour and a half home. When I got there, it was 70 something. Then, I never charged it again in pretty cold weather. I used it for a couple of days around town. Did the errands with my girlfriend and eventually drove it back to New Jersey from Connecticut. When I dropped it off, it was just below 50%.

The range of this car and how little energy it uses is incredible. They achieve this by being obsessed with efficiency, which I tried to show visually in my video, but it probably proved nothing. However, a big part is that this car has the lowest drag coefficient of any production car in the world.

That pretty design isn’t just good-looking; it’s incredibly functional.

Does The Lucid Air fulfill its Purpose?

As long as they keep humans integral, they have fulfilled their purpose. They are working to create self-driving and have a very fancy assisted cruise control, but what I loved about this car was that, for now, you feel like this would be the ultimate version of an electric car if self-driving were never a thing.

Like all cars, it has its quirks, but you get the sense they could be fixed with a software update. That is why I can only assume much of what Matt felt made this car dumb, most likely a year later, has been tweaked and adjusted via software. [Ed note: Having been around a couple of Lucids since then, this is basically true – MH]

This would not be my first choice of an EV if I wanted one, considering the price, but if you want to be different than your friends in a Tesla and can afford then the Lucid Air Grand Touring is a worthy option.

Oh, and it will make you fast at a track. But that’d be dumb.

All Photos Chris Taylor unless otherwise noted