New record set with Lucid Air from New York to LA
The drivers were Julius Wilhelm and Janek Metzner, who work at the German EV software firm Pionix. The duo opted to test the so-called Cannonball Run route, which goes 2,806 miles from Los Angeles to New York, and managed to cover over 400 miles between each charging stop, setting the record for least charging stops on the route. This is not a major surprise, however, as the Lucid Air Grand Touring can handle up to 700 kilometres on a single charge. The drivers also pointed out that they saw a charging station every 30 to 50 miles.
By the time the trip had been completed, the Lucid Air Grand Touring had consumed 697 kWh to cover 2806 miles, delivering four miles per kWh of efficiency, and the duo had spent 44 hours and 40 minutes behind the wheel.
“There is sufficient coverage of fast chargers pretty much along the interstate highway system… Usually it’s between 30-50 miles between every fast charger. So in general, charger density is pretty good,” said Janek Metzner, who also explained some of the difficulties the team faced: “Heat is your enemy. You require a lot more cooling during fast charging sessions. You need cooling on the [car’s battery], on the charger, on the cable and then cooling for the cabin.” He concluded that both innovation on the vehicle side, as well as improved and more widespread charging infrastructure, are needed: “We need both reasonably priced cars with reasonably sized batteries. We also need reliable infrastructure and more density.”
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