When you think of the quickest cars in the world, you probably think of low-slug, purpose-built supercars with a couple of seats and limited practicality. Well, what if I told you the quickest car MotorTrend has ever tested is actually a four-door sedan with five seats and two separate cargo areas? That’s right, baby. MT has a new 0-60 king, and it’s the Lucid Air Sapphire.
The ballistic sedan — with the help of Lucid’s new Track Tire package — just laid down a 1.881-second 0-60 run. That’s just absurd from a vehicle that weighs 5,342 pounds on an unprepped surface. Of course, it’s got a lot of power behind it: 1,234 horsepower and 1,430 foot-pounds of torque, to be exact, though during an interview years ago, former CEO and Founder Peter Rawlinson told me the Sapphire’s three motors made quite a bit more power than that.
In any case, the Air Sapphire now holds the “Quickest Ever” titles at both MotorTrend and Car and Driver, and its new Track Tire package made all the difference. It’s an $8,250 (plus installation) dealer-installed option on top of the $250,500 Air Sapphire that gets you four Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS Elect LM1 tires mounted on the Sapphire’s forged wheels. That’s a lot of money, for sure, but it’s enough to knock nearly 0.32 seconds off the 0-60 sprint the standard Sapphire lays down with Michelin Pilot Sport 4S LM1 tires.
The Air Sapphire, with its new rubber, was able to beat out the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT Weissach — MotorTrend’s previously 0-60 record holder — by just 0.006 seconds.
Mind-bending numbers
0-60 times weren’t the only measurements MotorTrend was after. The publication also put the big sedan to the test on the quarter-mile drag strip, where the Sapphire — on its old tires — was already king. It had previously set a 9.21-second quarter-mile run at 157.1 mph, but with the new tires, it was about to drop a few tenths and get down to 9.03 seconds. Oddly, the trap speed was a bit lower at 154.8 mph.
These new tires mean the car can brake better, too. MT says the Air Sapphire can come to a complete stop from 60 mph in just 93 feet. That’s apparently a 10-foot improvement over the standard car and ties the Taycan Turbo GT Weissach for the best-stopping EV for the shortest stopping distance in cars it’s tested.
As someone who has tested the Air Sapphire, I can say with confidence that the magic of the car lies in how usable it is as a daily driver. If you don’t romp on it, there’s nothing that suggests it isn’t a normal, practical, everyday driver. Hell, it even has plenty of range from its 118 kWh battery: 427 miles, according to the EPA. Still, you and four of your friends can sit comfortably as you nearly break the sound barrier from a dead stop and go on to a top speed of 205 mph. There are lots of very good cars out there, but it’s hard to think of many that are better and more impressive than the Air Sapphire.
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