Lucid may be out to break the electric vehicle lap record for the Nurburgring Nordschleife, which was set by the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT in March of this year. An Air Sapphire prototype was recently spotted doing laps of the ‘Ring, covered by a light camouflage wrap and sporting racing seats.
CarSpyMedia posted a video of the Air Sapphire, which starts by showing the driver swerving at the start of the lap to put heat into the tires to get them to provide maximum grip. This is a strong indication that they may have been preparing the car for a hot lap, as is the aggressive cornering shown throughout the video.
Lucid will have a tough time taking the record from the Taycan Turbo GT, whose two motors deliver a 1,019 horsepower burst of power for 10 seconds that allows the car to sprint to sixty in 2.2 seconds with launch control. It’s not quite as quick in a straight line as the Air Sapphire, whose claimed sprint time dips under the 2-second mark thanks to 1,234 hp from its three electric motors.
However, you can get the Taycan Turbo GT with the Weissach package, which adds additional aero components that improve downforce, Attack Mode, which unleashes the full potential of the motors and makes the power delivery more aggressive, as well as removing the rear seat and replacing some of the steel panels in the back with lightweight carbon fiber. The Weissach package makes the Turbo GT 165 pounds lighter, bringing the car to 4,894 lbs.
The Air Sapphire is over 440 pounds heavier and it has narrower rear tires. It’s not going to be as quick through the corners as the Turbo GT Weissach, but its superior power and torque should make up some of the difference on the straights. The current Nurburgring Nordschleife EV lap record stands at 7:07.55, which is on par with a track-honed 911 GT3 RS, and with its extra weight, the Air Sapphire stands little chance of challenging it.
It should have no problem posting a quicker lap time than the Tesla Model S Plaid, whose quickest-ever lap time was 7:25.231. It will be interesting to see if Lucid explains why it took an Air Sapphire to the Nurburgring, whether it was looking to break records or just test its hottest model on one of the world’s most challenging drives.
