Ludicrous Lucid Air and Delhi-Mumbai Expressway

dhruvtalksstech
Nov 16, 2022
6 min read

Updated: Dec 3, 2022

What Volvo is to BMW is what Lucid is to Tesla. I mean there is something about the name that just draws me in and I feel like I have to talk about this. Quick background - It is an American Company founded in 2007 by 3 Chinese-American men. It has received about 37,000 orders and is roughly worth $22 billion. It is a publicly-traded company and is headquartered in California, USA. Lucid produces luxury electric cars and boy, they can get pretty expensive (and pretty fast). They currently sell only 1 car - the Lucid Air, which comes in 5 variants. Ranging from $88,000 to a whopping $250,000. That's a lot of money for a car not too many people know about.

The battery capacity is a healthy 118kWh. The range varies from 406 miles to 516 miles depending on the variant you go for. The 5 variants are Air Pure, Touring, Grand Touring, Dream Edition, and Sapphire in ascending order of price, performance, and range. The car is almost 5m long and has a 2.96m wheelbase. It is 1.939m wide and 1.410m tall. It comes in 6 color options:

Eureka Gold (Sparkling Gold Metallic Paint)
Stellar White (Brilliant White Metallic Paint)
Infinite Black (Luxurious Black Metallic Paint)
Cosmos Silver (Modern Silver Metallic Paint)
Quantum Grey (Rich Grey Metallic Paint)
Zenith Red (Deep Red Metallic Paint)

You can choose between 19', 20', and 21' wheels. Like the Tesla, you can buy the Driver-assistance package for 10 grand but it is standard on the higher variants. You can also shell out $4000 for a better sound system. It can go from 0-60 in a claimed 2.42 seconds and can charge from 10% to 90% in just 46 minutes which makes it the fastest-charging electric car in the world. This is possible by using Electrify America's 350KW charger. The car has a lightbar that runs along its whole length both at the front and at the rear. The car has a nice wrap-around design and the door handles sit flush with the surface like a lot of new cars nowadays.

I prefer the front to the rear. It just looks a little slab-like from the rear but has an A8L vibe because of the LED bar. The tailgate opens up hatchback-style to reveal a 455L space in addition to a 200L frunk. The car has a lot of glass area and the roof can be had in different colors which looks cool. I would say the car looks better than the Tesla Model S Plaid which tends to look a bit fish-like. The car seems luxurious and the paint job is well done. Let's jump on the inside to talk about the interior because that is where you are going to spend the majority of your time since it is a car.

The rear seats are very differently shaped and look like those in a concept car from 2035. I have not sat in the car personally but from the videos and photos, it seems very spacious, welcoming, and comforting. The seat base is wide and you can configure the rear as captain seats if you want. It then becomes supremely comfortable and can very well rival something like a 7 Series or an S-class. You can option the car with a touch display controller to control the aircon and other miscellaneous functions and settings of the car. To keep you entertained when you are on the go, there is also a big tablet just behind the front center armrest where you can stream shows, watch videos, and read Dhruv Talks Tech blogs. There are also cupholders hidden under a wooden slider.

I can't wait to jump in the driver's seat because that is what an electric car, no matter how expensive and luxurious, is really about. I very much appreciate a full steering wheel. It is D-shaped. Partial ones are a total disaster and a bad thought indeed. The whole digital cockpit is mind-boggling 34-inches and has a resolution of 5K. The glass roof like in Teslas makes the cabin feel very airy despite the dark upholstery on some variants but robs away the sense of privacy and coziness for me. Like in the Porsche Taycan, there is a separate screen to control the aircon and other functions such as drive modes. The logo on the steering wheel is not the most inspiring and motivating but you will quickly forget all about it once you twitch your right foot.

The car also has cupholders in the front. There's ambient lighting and built-in Alexa support. The quality, touch, feel, and finish of the car better be good when I am considering something like this over a 3-pointed star. Especially for the quarter million Sapphire Air, it must feel as if God Himself stitched all the fabric and leather. There are steering-mounted controls to alter the car's functions and the infotainment has Apple CarPlay support. Lucid Air has up to 1200 horsepower and the base version has 480HP and 600NM of peak torque. The car and brand may be promising but for me, it just does not have the badge to ever convince m spending so much money on it. One would be so much better off buying a Tesla or better yet, a BMW.

It connects India’s national capital to its business capital, links $400 billion in GDP, creates thousands of job opportunities, cuts down travel time in half, saves 320 million liters of fuel, and reduces carbon emissions by 850 million kgs which are equivalent to planting 40 million trees. It is being built at a staggering cost of $13 billion (1,00,000 Cr) and the world’s longest and probably most consequential expressway will utilize 12 lakh tonnes of steel, and 80 lakh tonnes of concrete which accounts for 2% of India’s cement production capacity.

It stretches over 1400 km and 70% of the work is complete. It is expected to be up and running by March 2023. The speed limit is set at 120kmph, resulting in a 12-hour travel time. You won’t be driving at 120 kph most of the time; so, the real-world travel time would be about 15-17 hours considering you would be stopping for food breaks, refueling, and washroom breaks. If you’ve got an electric car, you are in for a treat as there would be 4 lanes for EVs and charging stations every 40-60 km. This is a great step to encourage the adoption of EVs.

The expressway also has other world-class facilities and several world-firsts. It will have the world’s 2nd underpass and overpass and Asia’s first. This is done to protect the animals in the wildlife sanctuaries that the expressway passes through in regions of Rajasthan. Animals will be able to move freely and in an unrestricted manner as usual. Restaurants, washrooms, recreational centers, hospitals, superstores, and petrol pumps will also be developed. The expressway will initially feature 8 lanes with plans to add 4 other lanes in the future. Plans to broaden the roads are already in place and the government is swiftly acquiring land from the locals to achieve it.

Trucks and good carriers will benefit the most from this expressway as it cuts time in half, saves fuel, and provides better amenities. Considering how popular and busy such a route can get, the government has tried everything it can to reduce and eliminate bottlenecks that tend to build up over the years. The expressway will also connect major cities in between cities such as Jaipur, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara, Surat, and other hubs in Madhya Pradesh. It will also be connected to Noida’s Jewar International Airport.

It is also one of the fastest-completed mega projects in the world. Projects of comparable scale have taken even more than 10 years in developed countries like Japan, Sweden, and Russia. The expressway also paves the way for DMIC (Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor) which would rely on the robust network to boost the economy and link ports. I honestly can't wait to turn 18 myself, get my driver's license, and head to Mumbai. I am pretty sure that it is going to be an exhilarating and wonderful experience that will forever have a special place in my heart.