LoginLucid Air Sapphire Soundly Beats Porsche Taycan Turbo GT In Most Powerful U-Drag Race Yet
- Two of the fastest electric sedans in the world go head to head in this U-drag race.
- The test combines a traditional drag race with a single turn and a sprint to the finish.
- The winner dominates both races handily.
One-percenters now have several super-fast electric sedans from which to choose. Among them are the Lucid Air Sapphire and the Porsche Taycan Turbo GT. Now, the pair go head to head in a U-drag race to determine which is the quickest in this unique testing protocol.
As a reminder, this sort of race is exactly what it sounds like. The cars compete in a traditional drag race before turning around at the big end and racing back to the start line. In essence, the event tests acceleration, braking, cornering, and how easy it is to put power back down after a curve.
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The contestants combine to make 2,326 horsepower (1,734 kW), so no doubt this is going to be a fast event. The Lucid has all of the numbers on its side. It makes 1,234 hp (920 kW) and 1,430 lb-ft (1936 Nm) of torque. The Porsche brings 1,092 hp (814 kW) and 988 lb-ft (1,338 Nm) to the table, but only when the driver is using the “Boost” button. In addition, the Porsche puts that power down with two motors while the Lucid uses three.
If things sound a little lop-sided on paper, the track only makes that truth more evident. From the moment the flag drops in race one, the Lucid rockets ahead and leaves the Porsche for dead. The pair actually end up entering the turn at similar moments but the Air Sapphire is just so much smoother on the exit that the Taycan never comes close to catching it.
In race two, the results are similar but the path there is different. This time, the Porsche leaps out in front and the Lucid spends the entire quarter-mile reeling it in. Then, in the bend, the Air Sapphire is, again, smoother. While the Porsche is struggling to exit the turn without a loss of traction, the Lucid is leaving the area.
Interestingly, the Taycan proved quicker from 0-60 mph (2.1 seconds) in the second race than the Lucid did (2.2 seconds) in either one. The Lucid is powerful enough to win at the end of the drag strip with a 9.2-second performance. The Air also cornered slightly harder at 1.34g vs the Porsche’s 1.33g. In the end, it was one full second faster throughout the whole test. That’s a seriously impressive feat considering how quick the Porsche is.
