James Brown and I were feeling good—I, behind the wheel of Lucid Motors’ new Gravity SUV, the California company’s plush, lush, and oh-so-hush luxury van, equipped with what I will argue is the best audio reproduction in its segment. And Mr. Brown? Riding the vibe like the giant he was.
Powered by two integrated drive units producing a combined 828 hp and 909 lb-ft, the Lucid Gravity Grand Touring can accelerate to 60 mph in just 3.4 seconds, according to the company.
According to my GPS, I was speeding south from Palo Alto to Monterey, en route to last week’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. But thanks to the Gravity’s jaw-dropping, mind-expanding sound system, my booty was shaking back at Criteria Studios in Miami, Fla., on May 6, 1965, the day the Rev. Brown laid it down.
You probably had no idea I was so funky. I’m not, usually. The track had been saved in the system by a previous driver, someone significantly cooler. But the groove machine aboard my Gravity Grand Touring—aptly called Surreal Sound Pro (a $2,900 option)—could not, would not be denied. Gutgawd.
Lucid’s crisply modern interior and expansive forward view is dominated by high-resolution touch screens.
The Gravity—the second vehicle from Lucid after the Air sedan (2021)—is the SUV the Saudi-owned company desperately needs to reach a sustainable sales volume. Only it’s not an SUV. It is rather obviously a low-roof luxury van, with two or three rows of spacious seating, accommodating up to seven passengers inside its classy climes.
There are good reasons to abandon the cubistic form factor of traditional SUVs, the most obvious being aerodynamic efficiency (0.24 Cd), which translates to increased range. Fitted with 20/21-inch all-season tires, the Gravity’s two-row variant squeezes 450 miles of estimated range from its 123-kWh battery pack. It remains to be seen whether the horsey set will embrace the Lucid’s hypersonic tadpole aesthetic. They typically like them boxy.
Production began in December with the halo car, the 1,070-hp Gravity Dream Edition. The Dream Edition’s stats are appropriately febrile: 0-60 mph in 3.1 seconds, according to Car and Driver; and an outrageous, just-plain-silly ¼-mile pass of 10.6 seconds. Kids, buckle up. Mom is bracket-racing the Dodge Hellcat.
The Grand Touring ($122,200, as tested) is de-tuned but not by much: the dual-motor system is constrained to mere 828 horses, while peak torque remains 909 lb-ft., coming on like honey from a fire hose. Lucid quotes a 0-60 mph acceleration of 3.4 seconds.
Myself? I clicked through the master control to find the Sprint mode only once, while traveling through one of California’s plausible deniability zones. Due diligence and all that. At 80 mph I put my foot to the floor. The song of electrons filled the tastefully decorated living space as the Gravity surged into three-digit territory, squeezing me into the soft leather upholstery like Reddy Kilowatt himself was sitting on my chest.
Daring a few moments to appreciate the Gravity’s high-speed, self-stabilizing roadholding—courtesy of its optional air suspension, semi-active and adaptive damping and rear-wheel steering—I backed the car down, toggling the drive mode to Smooth, where it is still a magnificent velocity monster disguised as luxury livery.
I consider the Lucid Air Sapphire the finest luxury sedan on the U.S. market today. The Gravity shares much with its illustrious sibling, starting with a pair of all-in-one power modules, integrating the AC synchronous motor, center differential and halfshaft splines; the power electronics and all associated cooling, into a box no bigger than a roll-aboard.
Yeah, but who cares, traditional luxury buyers may say. What matters is the refinement, sophistication, ease and comfort of the driving experience, sustained over many hours, days, months and years.
Exactly. And the unfortunate fact of the matter is, audiophile systems are wasted in IC-powered cars—no matter the wattage, channels, signal processing or speakers.
While the average audio upsell is fine if all you listen to is the farm report or Howard Stern—Baba Booey!—any pretense of high fidelity musical reproduction vanishes the moment the infernal-combustion engine kicks in. You can’t isolate it. You can’t noise-cancel it. Among many advantages, Lucid’s sound reproduction starts with a hushed room.
The audio geeks had space to work with. Lucid’s 926V system architecture allows energized components—motors, inverters and batteries—to be smaller and lighter than their 400V equivalents. Between its compact propulsion elements and its space-frame construction, Lucid’s car-building method creates a lot of opportunities for people, parcels and, as it happens, loudspeakers—22 in all, arranged with scientific rigor among the roof pillars, door panels, dash consoles and footwells. Some you can see, some you can’t.
The Lucid Gravity Grand Touring ($94,900 base price, $122,200, as tested) is an all-electric SUV with dual-motor AWD and up to 450 miles of nominal range.
Much of the above also applies to the Air Sapphire sedan and I don’t remember it being this third eye of audio enlightenment. What’s changed?
According to my sources, engineers initially exploited some openings in Air’s load-bearing structure in order to fortify the bass response. The result was a somewhat muddy signal, which required a compensating tweak to the audio system’s digital signal processing (DSP). In the Gravity, I’m told, those cavities have been sealed and the DSP re-tweaked to clean up the bass signal.
Such fixes might have been harder at other luxury carmakers, who are typically at the mercy of their branded audio suppliers. Lucid is unusual in that it developed its own amplification and spatial imaging DSP.
Which brings me back to Miami and the session that made funk history. Available on the music streaming service Tidal, the full-resolution copy of “I Got You (I Feel Good)” sounded like it had been remastered by archangels. Played on the Lucid system, the track is magical, snatching a moment of the infinite past back to the tangible present. You are so there.
One day, maybe, a more attainable Lucid will reach the market, with all the jams but half the price tag, perhaps with a single motor. Anyway, I’ll keep my ears open.
2026 Lucid Gravity Grand Touring
The Lucid Gravity’s slippery aerodynamic contours help it squeeze up to 450 miles of nominal range from its 123 kWh battery pack.
Base price: $94,900
Price, as tested: $122,200
Propulsion: Dual-motor all-wheel drive, with front and rear integrated drive units; AC synchronous motor; single-speed transmissions; independent and cooperative AWD
Charging: up to 400 kW DC fast charging; 200 miles of range in under 11 minutes
Cargo capacity: 114.3 cubic feet
An SUV That Rides Like a Dream—for AudiophilesAn SUV That Rides Like a Dream—for AudiophilesAn SUV That Rides Like a Dream—for Audiophiles
Unlock a world of Benefits with HT! From insightful newsletters to real-time news alerts and a personalized news feed – it's all here, just a click away! -Login Now!
Home/Car Bike/An SUV That Rides Like A Dream—for Audiophiles
E-Paper
