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Cailifonia-based luxury EV startup Lucid revealed the second new model in its growing fleet of vehicles this morning. Meet the seven-seat, three-row, fully electric Lucid Gravity.
We’ve known that the Gravity was inbound even before the automaker began teasing its “one more thing” at the end of the Lucid Air sedan’s production launch back in 2020. Supply chain issues meant all we’d get would be more teasers of “Project Gravity” for the next two years. As the new 2024 launch target looms, Lucid has finally dropped images and details of the Gravity’s production-ready form at the 2023 LA Auto Show today.
The larger Lucid
Visually, the Gravity looks pretty much exactly how we expected. Up front, Lucid’s familiar visor-shaped light signature now sits atop the larger chin of the front bumper. At the rear, there’s a large spoiler punctuating the upright back glass. Overall, the new model wraps the design language and details of the Air — already a frankly massive sedan — around the more vertical proportions of a three-row SUV.
Inside, passengers will be treated to Lucid’s remarkable glass roof, which spans unbroken from the hood’s cowl to the b-pillars, wrapping dramatically over the driver and front passenger’s heads. Just ahead of the reshaped steering wheel sits Lucid’s 34-inch curved OLED upper display stretching across the dashboard. Below, the Pilot Panel lower screen also returns, now larger than before and floating above the redesigned center console. Both displays will be powered by the next generation of Lucid’s over-the-air updateable infotainment software.
Second-row passengers sit on new sliding seats while taking advantage of integrated tables that fold down from the front seat backs. Lucid also promises that the Gravity will offer substantial third-row legroom and up to 112 cubic feet of cargo capacity between the enlarged rear stowage area (with the seats folded flat) and its massive front trunk.
While parked and charging, passengers can treat themselves to Lucid Spaces digital landscapes or guided meditation by Meditopia.
Charging, range and battery
Lucid’s Air electric sedan has frequently captured our attention, earning the top spot on our lists of the longest-ranging and most efficient electric cars you can buy today. The Gravity promises to follow in its older sibling’s footsteps with its class-leading estimate of 440 miles per charge and the promise of impressive efficiency thanks to its slippery aerodynamics and class-leading sub-2.4 drag coefficient.
Lucid hasn’t supplied detailed specs for the launch editions yet, so I’ll be donning my expert speculation cap for a bit. Given the Gravity’s stated range, it’s a good and safe bet that the SUV will make use of the Air Grand Touring’s 112 kilowatt-hour pack. We can also estimate around 620 horsepower and a dual-motor configuration, given the Gravity’s claimed 3.5-second 0-to-60 mph sprint, again using the Air Grand Touring’s hardware as our guide.
I figure the Gravity will also be offered with the Air Pure/Touring’s 92-kWh unit and a single-motor rear-drive configuration, based on the ambitious starting price. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 1,234-horsepower Sapphire model on the horizon.
Lucid claims up to 440 miles of range and up to 6,000 pounds of towing, though likely not at the same time.
Based on Lucid’s 900-volt BEV architecture, the Gravity SUV should be able to add up to 200 miles with a 15-minute session at a 350-kW DC fast charging station. It will also boast up to 1,500 pounds of payload and a 6,000-pound towing capacity, though maxing out that trailer capacity will surely eat into the estimated range.
Read: Pebble Flow EV Camper Pulls Its Own Weight, Powers Your Home
The Gravity SUV will also be offered with a new optional “Zero Gravity” air suspension that features enhancement for rider comfort, automatic ride height adjustment based on terrain and manual height control for improved off-road capability or optimized on-road performance and range.
Price and availability
Lucid says the Gravity SUV should begin production in late 2024. Pricing is expected to start “under $80,000” — excluding a destination charge in the $1,500 ballpark — but that first run will likely kick off with a much more expensive, limited-run Dream Edition offering a higher level of performance, luxury and prestige to well-heeled early adopters.
The Gravity will likely launch with a limited-run, premium-priced Dream Edition.
That $80,000 starting price is important. It means that at least some Gravity configurations may qualify for IRA EV tax incentives, coming in just below the higher $80,000 price cap for trucks, vans and SUVs. (Versus the stricter $55,000 IRA cap for sedans that Lucid’s $87,400 Air Pure can’t clear, leading the automaker to offer its own $7,500 discount earlier this year to lure in buyers.)
The Gravity is priced and scaled to compete with other full-size eSUVs like the Tesla Model X, Rivian R1S, Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV. Preorders for the Gravity SUV haven’t opened just yet, but customers can sign up to be notified at www.lucidmotors.com/gravity.
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