One cool tidbit Jenkins shared with me about the Air’s actual design process involved the use of virtual-reality headsets. VR helped Jenkins overcome what he saw as a major challenge with the Air’s overall concept
In advance of the Lucid Air's planned 2021 deliveries, I recently spoke with VP of Design Derek Jenkins about designing a four-door hypercar EV game tips|https://evinsightzone.com/, as well as the future of a startup that toes the line between emergent and establis
Once upon a time, Jenkins had grown accustomed to working on sketches, then clay models, then going back to the drawing board, saying, "Often in the past, with clay modeling, you’d work something out in clay by hand, then you’d start on the B-side of the car and you’d have two themes going—A-side, B-side—and the digital model, all at once. You’d work like that for three, four weeks and review. And you’d realize the car looks worse than last ti
More recently, Tesla popped into his head because he could then ride in the carpool lane solo and avoid some LA traffic on his commute. All the widely reported performance stats helped, as well, but Ryan's a serious aficionado when it comes to his gear, so a test drive of a Model 3 was in order before his eyes got bigger than his wal
Next, it was my turn to drive. Ryan pulled over so we could switch positions. I adjusted the mirrors, set the steering on Sport, checked out the rear visibility (not great but again, I'd say better than the Lucid Air the day before), and floored
That aesthetic, in many ways, would provide the whole foundation of Lucid’s ethos moving forward. But despite being a brand with the clear intention of revolutionizing the future of automobiles, Jenkins and Rawlinson agreed they didn’t want to get too aggressive with the Air’s design language. And it all came down to the target custo
For owners who want to see how far into the wilderness the Hummer can take them, they'll be treated to features that even some of the most extreme rock crawlers lack. For example, the Ultravision feature provides real-time camera angles of the underbody of the truck to allow drivers to see what they're driving over. Should one find themselves on a particularly tricky trail, Extract mode allows the entire vehicle to lift itself a further 6 inches to gain added cleara
"Obviously, Tesla Model S started out with a big grille type aesthetic and later on evolved away from that. But that was our focus, from day one: to really avoid all the traditional elements of luxury and luxury sport sedans and try to bring something more modern to mark
After many years of fans wondering if and when the mighty Hummer might return, tonight is the night. The brand is evolving from a gas-guzzling vehicle of excess to one of opulent but environmentally conscious off-road ruggedness. When General Motors said that they were bringing the Hummer back , many doubted that they could truly pull off a unique and capable off-roader but that's precisely what they've accomplis
Speaking of people who might root against an electric vehicle's design, Lucid’s majority shareholder is PIF, the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia . How, I asked Jenkins, did Lucid get hitched up with a modern-day monarchy established and sustained by the monopolization of the very fossil fuels that Lucid wants to render obsol
Having covered most of the inspiration and background that went into the Air's evolution from 2015 onward, the conversation turned to what role Lucid might play in changing the world's perspective on what a luxury sedan can be—and should
In order to retain the Miata's 50/50 weight distribution, Zero EV fit the Hper9 motor along with a prototype 1.8:1 reduction gearbox in the car's original transmission tunnel. The EV inverter, controllers, and 26kWh battery pack are all neatly tucked away up front in the engine
Originally, he was dead-set on something bigger, probably used, with a bit of power under the hood (years ago, Ryan owned a 1990s 4Runner and loved everything about it except the weak engine). The first-place option on his growing list of potentials has typically been a Porsche Cayenne—probably a V8, hopefully a GTS, or, at the very least, an S. But he's also pondered the Macan... and a 1980s Mercedes-Benz diesel station wagon... and a mid-2000s Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG wagon... and on and
"There’s always a temptation with electric cars to go super futuristic, like taken from a Tron movie," he explained. "We felt like we can dabble in that a little bit but most luxury buyers today—and in a couple of years—don’t necessarily want a piece of science fiction in their driveway. They want something relatable, clearly future-focused but still elegant and sophisticated, as we
Power is serious too with the Hummer as the top of the range model is rated at 1,000 horsepower and 11,500 lb-ft of torque. The motors will propel the vehicle to 60 miles per hour in just 3 seconds. That's good enough to keep up with the other big players in the space and for the first time, a company with more history than Tesla is in the sp