NEW YORK MOTOR SHOW: Lucid Air to debut

It’s been years in the making, but we’re finally about to see the Lucid Air in the metal.

Better late than never, the Silicon Valley-based EV start-up has announced its first model will be globally unveiled in April at the New York motor show, more than 12 months after it was first pegged to arrive.

The US company says it is currently building 80 Lucid Air prototypes for final tuning and testing, all of which are “highly representative of the production Air”.

After that Lucid says it expects its first pre-production models to roll off the line in the last quarter of 2020, with full production to follow.

It is not yet known whether there are plans to introduce the Lucid brand Down Under.

Headed up by the former head of production at Audi and Tesla, Lucid also has a facility in Casa Grande, Arizona, where it says construction is underway.

Like Tesla and Fisker, Lucid will allow customers to reserve pre-production models online with a refundable deposit of $US1000 ($A1460).

As we’ve reported, the Tesla Model S rival will be available with around 300kW in entry-level rear-wheel drive form, offering an estimated range of 386km.

In top-spec form, it’ll come with a dual-motor, all-wheel drive system in producing an outrageous 746kW and a range of around 640km.

The most expensive variant is tipped to hit 100km/h in around 2.5 seconds, making it as quick as supercars like the Bugatti Chiron and Lamborghini Aventador SVJ – but not Tesla’s Model S P100D in Ludicrous mode.

A mid-level offering will also be available with around 500km of range.

While full details and specifications won’t be announced until the Big Apple show in April, customers can expect features such as LED headlights, a large tablet-style touch-screen, 19-inch wheels and a 10-speaker sound system as standard.

Extras like a panoramic sunroof, adaptive dampers and front seats with heating and massage function will also reportedly be available.