Testing of the Lucid Air electric luxury sedan continues ahead of its launch expected later this year.
Earlier this month, the EV startup showed us how a Lucid Air prototype traveled for 400 miles (644 km) from San Francisco to Los Angeles without recharging the batteries. Now, the company shows the Lucid Air in an area with a less pleasant climate than California.
A few months ago, Lucid Motors took two Lucid Air prototypes (Beta 4 and Beta 5) to the frozen northern reaches of Minnesota for testing in temperatures that dropped as low as -27 F/-33 C. According to the startup, “testing on low-friction surfaces is an important exercise that helps us refine the Lucid Air for stable performance in winter’s worst road conditions.”
See Also: Lucid Delays The Launch Of All-Electric Air Until Later This Year
Completing these phases of winter testing was “a key part of signing off the Lucid Air for production,” the carmaker adds. During the tests, engineers validated vehicle dynamics and assessed features like antilock braking, traction control, and stability control.
The following video shows the Lucid Air being driven on a circle track, an ice field, a snow field and a handling track. The beta prototypes are tackling surfaces like deep and packed snow, polished ice, and split conditions with surface traction that differs for each side of the car.
Obviously, the goal is to have a Lucid Air production car that remains composed in any conditions. “We’re engineering for precise balance, control, and handling in any situation - a chassis system that analyzes surface conditions, makes hundreds of split-second adjustments, and sends torque exactly where it needs to be to optimize traction,” the company says.