Lucid Air Sapphire
When in 2016 Bugatti started production of its extremely powerful Chiron, heir to the equally crazy Bugatti Veyron, it would have been difficult to imagine having to challenge an electric sedan for the title of queen of the quarter mile (400 metres) , but that's exactly what happened in recent days when the Hagerty Youtube channel compared a Lucid Air Sapphire with a Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport and a Tesla Model S Plaid - and why not, let's throw in a Ducati too.
Before talking about how the speed tests went, let's do a quick recap on the technical characteristics of these 3 cars: Tesla Model S Plaid is able to produce 1020 horsepower thanks to the 3 electric motors that drive all 4 the wheels; the Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport – which we talked about just a few days ago – is the sportiest version of the French hypercar and delivers 1500 horsepower, while the challenger, the Lucid Air Sapphire stops at 1200 horsepower with a 3 electric motor configuration, with a maximum speed of 330 km/h.
Finally, it is right to evaluate the price of these 3 cars: let's start with the cheapest, the Tesla Model S Plaid, offered at €140,990; then we move on to the Lucid Air Sapphire which in the USA is sold starting at $ 249,000, and then ends with the very exclusive Bugatti Chiron Pur Sport, produced in only 60 units at 5 million euros each.
On the shot from 0 to 100 km/h the three cars are practically identical, with Lucid and Tesla covering the acceleration in 2.1 seconds, while the Bugatti remains slightly behind; the quarter mile is instead covered in 9.1 seconds by the very fast Lucid Air Sapphire, while Tesla and Bugatti stop at 9.3 seconds. It's a relatively short sprint race, where electric motors can shine with the instantaneous torque they can deliver, but there's no doubt that accelerating over the long stretch the Bugatti Chiron would have been able to outrun the electric Lucid.
For all the tests conducted between these 3 crazy-powered cars, we refer you to the video below.