Lucid impressed the world with the first electric car capable of running more than 500 miles on a full charge. To be more specific, it can have 520 miles of range according to the EPA cycle. The guys from the YouTube channel The Kilowatts thought they could drive it for more than that with hypermiling techniques. What they achieved was a new world record for production EVs on public roads: 687.4 miles (1,106 kilometers).
That record obviously demanded an Air, which Lucid lent to Ryan, from The Kilowatts. However, six more people got involved in the enterprise: Laycee from Miss Go Electric (@MissGoElectric), Jordan Hart from DrivingTheFuture (@DTFclub), Josh from Quickshoe Racing (@QuickshoeRacing), Ryan (@thescrappynomad), Tim O (@CorporateCarny), and Zack (@BLKMDL3). All of them took 3-hour turns at the wheel of the electric sedan.
To ensure the Air would have its best performance, these guys drove at a constant speed of 27 mph (43 kph) from the Electrify America charging station in West Wendover, Nevada, up to Rowley Road, in Utah. This route has 93.4 miles (150.3 km), which means they did that multiple times from 8:34 AM on May 10 until the middle of the night on May 11.
That was not achieved without some issues, such as the need for a tire replacement. That killed efficiency for a brief moment, but it may mean that the EV could have run a bit more if that had not happened. Ryan also said that better weather conditions and a smoother road would probably have taken them further.
As The Kilowatts front man rightfully explains, the deal is that the Lucid Air is already a pretty efficient vehicle. That means that the low speed probably did not make that much of a difference compared to EVs such as the GMC Hummer, which is not even close to something friendly with airflow. Despite that, he believes the Lucid Air could reach 700 miles with better preparation or even on a closed track, with more controlled variables. We’re sure someone will now try to break their record, so stay tuned for more.
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