The Lucid Air Sapphire has 1,234 horsepower, the combined output of three electric motors. One motor drives the front wheels and a twin-motor unit drives the rears, and together they make 1,430 lb-ft of torque. Lucid published those final numbers on August 8, 2023, and its website still lists 1,234 hp for the 2027 model year. Lucid rates the Sapphire at 0 to 60 mph in 1.89 seconds and 0 to 100 mph in 3.84 seconds. It claims a quarter mile of 8.95 seconds at 158 mph and a top speed of 205 mph. Lucid sells it fully equipped for $249,000, before destination and other fees. The spec sheet lists a 118 kWh battery, a curb weight of 5,336 pounds, and an EPA-estimated range of 427 miles.
The Sapphire was Lucid's first three-motor car. Its twin rear unit can send torque to the two rear wheels in opposite directions, which Lucid says helps the nose turn in or keeps the car steady in a straight line. In tight corners, it can regenerate on the inside wheel while it powers the outside one. That is torque vectoring done by the motors themselves.
How it stacks up against the Plaid and Taycan Turbo GT
Tesla lists the Model S Plaid at 1,020 hp, which is 214 fewer. Its 0 to 60 time is 1.99 seconds, and Tesla's footnote says rollout is subtracted, so the clock starts after the car has already moved a short way. The Plaid runs a 9.23-second quarter mile at 155 mph. Its 200 mph top speed needs a paid hardware upgrade, and without it the car stops at 163 mph. Tesla's site now says the Model S is no longer in production.
Porsche lists the 2027 Taycan Turbo GT at up to 1,019 hp with launch control, plus an Attack Mode that adds 160 hp for passing. It quotes 0 to 60 mph in 2.2 seconds, or 2.1 with the Weissach Package, and a top track speed of 180 mph, or 190 with that package. Pricing starts at $243,700. Porsche also has an official Nürburgring time. Development driver Lars Kern lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes, 7.55 seconds in a pre-production Turbo GT with the Weissach Package, and Porsche called it the record for series-production electric cars. Lucid's spec sheet and Sapphire launch releases give no Nürburgring time.
The magazines filled in the rest. Car and Driver clocked the Sapphire at 2.1 seconds to 60 mph on its regular asphalt test surface, tying the 2021 Plaid it had tested. The Lucid then pulled away, reaching 100 mph in 4.2 seconds and running the quarter mile in 9.3 seconds at 153 mph, a tenth ahead of the Tesla in both. It hit 130 mph seven-tenths sooner and topped out at 207 mph, the magazine's EV record. It did all that while weighing 517 pounds more than the Plaid on the magazine's scales. On the prepped drag strip at Sonoma Raceway, technical editor Dan Edmunds got it to 60 in 1.9 seconds.
MotorTrend got 2.2 seconds to 60 on the factory Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. Lucid now offers a dealer-installed Track Tire package, four Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires on forged wheels, for $8,250 plus installation. On those, MotorTrend recorded 1.881 seconds to 60, a 9.03-second quarter mile at 154.8 mph, and a 93-foot stop from 60 mph. That 0 to 60 time beat the Taycan Turbo GT Weissach's best by 0.006 second. The Porsche still won MotorTrend's figure-eight, 21.9 seconds to 22.3.
The Pirellis helped on a road course too. At Car and Driver's Lightning Lap at Virginia International Raceway, the Sapphire ran 2:44.3 in 2024, a record for EVs and four-doors. On the Pirellis in 2025, it ran 2:40.2, the fastest car of the year, ahead of the Lamborghini Revuelto at 2:41.3 and a Taycan Turbo GT at 2:41.8. In a story Lucid posted in June 2026, racer Randy Pobst wrote that an unmodified press-fleet Sapphire on stock Michelins finished 12th overall out of 85 entrants at the One Lap of America.
How a Sapphire looks different from other Airs
Lucid widened the body 21 mm at the front and 24 mm at the rear to fit a staggered set of Aero Sapphire wheels: 20 inches up front on 265/35 tires and 21 inches in back on 295/30s. The wheels wear removable carbon-fiber aero covers with a center lock nut. Behind them sit carbon-ceramic brakes, with 420 mm front rotors and 10-piston calipers, and 390 mm rear rotors with four-piston calipers.
The color is the quickest tell. Sapphire Blue paint is exclusive to the car, and Lucid said it drew on Imperial Blue, the American racing color, and on benitoite, California's state gem. Lucid uses the blue on the body and the accents, paired with its Stealth Look trim. The Lucid bear logo shows up on the seat headrests, the anodized blue wheel center locks, and the screens. Up top, the Sapphire gets an aluminum roof, which Lucid says cuts weight and lowers the center of gravity.
Inside, the Sapphire Mojave theme pairs black leather sport seats with Alcantara accents and Sapphire Blue stitching, and the seats still heat, cool, and massage. For why the battery floor makes EV proportions so hard to get right, see Electric cars have a design problem nobody is talking about.
Does the blue paint justify the price? Rate the Sapphire against the Plaid and Taycan on WhipJury.
Sources:
Final horsepower, torque, performance claims, price, wheels, brakes, aluminum roof, and Sapphire Blue with Stealth Look trim: Lucid
Current 2027 model-year horsepower, price, and range: Lucid
Battery, curb weight, tire sizes, and brake rotors: Lucid spec sheet
Torque vectoring, body widening, paint inspiration, bear logo, and interior: Lucid
One Lap of America result: Lucid
Model S Plaid specs and production status: Tesla
Taycan Turbo GT US power, acceleration, top speed, and price: Porsche
The Nürburgring lap: Porsche Newsroom
Acceleration, top speed, and weight testing against the Plaid: Car and Driver
Lightning Lap times: Car and Driver
Track Tire package, price, and test results: MotorTrend
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Alexander-93 and Matti Blume (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Cam Walsh has been obsessing over cars since before he could drive one. Based out of Atlanta, Cam covers automotive design, car culture, and the eternal debate over which whips actually look the part.
