Pay around $150,000 for a luxury car, drive it around for a short while, roll it over, and send it straight to the scrap yard. That sounds like the worst case scenario for any owner. Yet, it can happen. It happened to someone who bought a Lucid Air Grand Touring last year. The car was virtually new.
The Lucid Air Grand Touring has always been advertised as the car with the longest range of any EV. Riding on 19-inch wheels, the 2023 Lucid Air Grand Touring XR RWD can drive as far as 516 miles (840 kilometers), according to the EPA estimation, before it needs to be plugged in again. Energy is stored in a battery pack, made up of 22 modules, each integrating 300 cells, with a capacity of 112 kWh.
The next in line in terms of range is the Tesla Model S, which comes with 405 miles (652 kilomters). Others down the line don't even come close. Lucid Motors claims the Air Grand Touring can charge enough for a drive of 200 miles (322 kilometers) in just 12 minutes. There are, of course, various Chinese models coming with ranges of up to 1,000 kilometers (621 miles).
The car is powered by two electric motors, one mounted on the front axle and the other one at the back. Together, they generate a total system output of 819 horsepower (830 PS) and 885 lb-ft (1,200 Nm) of torque for a run from 0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 kph) in 3.0 seconds on the way to a top speed of 168 mph (270 kph).
'Relentless range. Supercar speed. Lavish luxury.' This is how the carmaker labels its pride and joy. Pride and joy it must have been for the owner of this Lucid Air Grand Touring, who drove it home last year, parked it in the driveway for all neighbours to admire it, took it on a few drives, and crashed it.
Photo: Copart
Not only did they crash it. They smashed it. They broke it to pieces. Nothing is left straight on this vehicle. The entire body of the Lucid Air Grand Touring is now a bunch of metal and glass in Quantum Grey Metallic, one of the five available in the Lucid lineup, with the front end sitting directly on the asphalt.
The front axle is broken, and the front wheel on the right side is ripped off. The hood is crumpled, the windshield is shattered into a gazillion pieces still holding together, and the roof is seriously bent.
The front passenger door is popped open following the rollover. The only thing that keeps it from falling off is a string that ties it to the door frame. The Platinum with Glass Canopy panoramic roof is gone, and so are the mirrors of the Air Grand Touring.
Things don’t look much better at the rear, either. The liftgate is also badly bent. The situation is just as bad inside. All airbags were deployed in the crash. Furthermore, the impressive 35-inch, 5K display, which actually used to integrate three different screens, is cracked in every single direction. Mileage can’t possibly be read anymore, but probably just a few thousand miles were added in the few months the car spent on the road.
Photo: Copart
Whoever picked up the pieces from the crash scene threw them inside the cabin to make sure nothing is left behind. Yet, not much is left to save from this car. The driver’s side rear door with the integrated handle might still get a new lease on life.
The seats in Mojave gray should be fine as well, despite all the airbag dust covering them right now. The rear wheels might also return to the road at one moment. The 21-inch Aero Blade wheels can be selected for extra $1,500.
There is no information referring to the condition of the powertrain following the rollover. But considering that the area of the rear axle doesn’t seem damaged that bad, the motor at the back might still run.
The Lucid Air Grand Touring starts at $125,600. The vehicle in pieces, as shown in the photo gallery, is listed on Copart with a salvage title. The estimated retail value is of $149,773. It is, therefore, obvious the one who bought the car last year checked several option boxes. To reach that price, it is enough to check the boxes for the DreamDrive Pro driver advanced assistance system for $9,000, the Surreal Sound Pro rated at $2,900, the 21-inch wheels, and a few several others.
With less than five hours left to the end of the auction, the current bid sits at only $175. Whoever brings the trailer for this bag of metal and glass at the El Paso scrap yard in Texas won't be able to put it back on the road, but will be able to sell several components.
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