Source: Engineering.com – The automotive industry is one of the areas that has long been dominated by men; this is something that Lucid Motors wants to change. With more women in leading positions, Lucid wants to break down old values ​​in order to pave the way for new standards for the luxury electric vehicles (EVs) of the future.

During the next half of 2021—after some major delays announced last week—Lucid Motors will start delivering its first factory produced cars to the market. Several female engineers played important roles in the design and development work on the Lucid Air, which took place on Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform.

The Lucid Air is designed with inspiration from optimized aerodynamics and with a user-focus. The trio of Sue Magnusson, Jenny Ha and Joann Jung are three of the leading engineers at the company who have been involved in developing the new car. It seemed apt to share their story on International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8th.

“What distinguishes Lucid’s design is the technology behind everything, where technology is developed and developed within the business. As the technology takes up little space, we have been able to design the car from the inside out, which has made it possible for exciting solutions such as more space inside the car,” says Sue Magnusson, Associate Director, CMF.

However, it is not just austere elegance being presented in the design language; it also showcases a power package with more than 1,000 horsepower and an acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 2.5 seconds. Furthermore, this is the EV with quite possibly the longest EV range on the market at a range of 517 miles.

The original plan was for deliveries of the vehicle to begin this spring, but last week it was announced that they had to postpone until the second half of 2021.

A Mission To Inspire

Lucid Motors claims their mission is to inspire the use of sustainable transportation by creating the most captivating electric vehicles, centered around the human experience.

Of course, it sounds grandiose and the company’s first car, the Lucid Air, is also an elegant luxury sedan with a California-inspired design supported by proven racing technology.

In the case of the Lucid Air, being inspired by aerodynamics means that the company’s engineers have chosen a different path than traditional luxury sedans. Instead of a large hood and rear, they have chosen to let the passenger compartment take up more space. This is a decision that led to Lucid Air becoming the most aerodynamic car in its class. Air resistance coefficients are set to 0.21, which can be compared to the Tesla Model S which has a corresponding figure of 0.24.

Driveline With Double Electric Machines

With luxurious interior space in a medium-sized car model, Air will be able to deliver more than 500 miles in range and an acceleration of 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in under 2.5 seconds. Customer deliveries of Lucid Air, which will be produced at Lucid’s new factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, will now begin in the second half of 2021.

Lucid Air has a driveline with double electric machines, one per shaft, which provides capacity to deliver over 1,300 horsepower; however, this has now been limited to just over 1,000 horsepower.

The battery capacity is 113 kWh, which should be able to cover just over 500 miles on a full charge. Energy consumption is 1,355 kWh/mile.

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