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Lucid Motors Strengthens Ties With Formula E

Lucid strengthens its ties to the world's premier electric motorsport series with a fleet of Lucid Airs hitting the track in Diriyah.
A trio of Lucid Airs are pictured driving in the desert.

Lucid Motors, the American EV manufacturer with heavy ties to the Saudi PIF, has strengthened its ties to the world's premier electric motorsport series with a fleet of Lucid Airs hitting the track in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia as part of the past weekend's Formula E race festivities.

The Lucid Air course cars were on display and in action over the double-header race weekend with rounds two and three of the 2023 season taking place on Friday and Saturday.

Lucid's Ties To Formula E
The Lucid Airs drove a number of demonstration fast laps of the Diriyah Street Circuit and provided transport to all the "celebrities, journalists, guests and influencers" that a Formula E double-header in a wealthy country transitioning away from oil brings out.

Lucid has an ongoing relationship with Formula E, having previously supplied battery packs that allowed the cars to complete a full race distance on a single charge. More recently, Lucid announced that it supplies the front drive unit to every Formula E car on the grid. Lucid's compact motor and transmission combo is mainly there to harvest energy from regenerative braking, though Lucid says the motor is capable of producing up to 469 horsepower despite weighing just 70.5 lbs.

“I am very excited for Formula E’s global audience to witness a fleet of our award-winning Lucid Air road cars on the Diriyah Street Circuit this weekend, as course cars and as part of the Formula E Electric Laps program. Formula E is the world’s preeminent electric vehicle racing series, so it is only appropriate that the world’s most efficient and powerful electric sedan, the Lucid Air, shares the track with the race cars." - Lucid CEO and CTO Peter Rawlinson

The Saudi Connection
Lucid also has deep ties to the Saudi Public Investment Fund, which has long supported the EV startup and is currently its majority shareholder. Lucid's stock price last week before finishing the day with a 43% gain on rumors of a full buyout by the PIF.

Lucid's second factory, known as AMP-2, is currently under construction in Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah Economic City, and the Saudi government has agreed to buy 50,000 vehicles from Lucid with the option to buy a further 50,000 in the future.

Related Story: Lucid's Lots Filling With Finished Cars In Latest Flyover

Images by Lucid Motors licensed by CC BY 4.0.

James Walker is an Automotive Journalist at Torque News focusing on Lucid Motors. If it's got wheels he's interested, and he's looking forward to seeing what kind of cars the EV revolution brings us. Whether it's fast, slow, new, or old, James wants to have a look around it and share it in print and on video, ideally with some twisty roads involved. You can connect with James on Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

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