Lucid Shatters World Record With 749-Mile Drive On A Single Charge
Behind the wheel of the Lucid was Umit Sabanci, a London-based entrepreneur who has the eccentric hobby of breaking Guinness World Records. In 2017, Sabanci set the record for visiting the most countries in 24 hours by scheduled transportation. He and a friend darted to 13 countries across Europe. In 2022, he completed the fastest circumnavigation of the Earth by scheduled flights. Sabanci flew a three-flight itinerary from and to Los Angeles International Airport in 46 hours and 23 minutes via Doha, Qatar and Brisbane, Australia.
Sabanci previously worked with Lucid. He broke the record driving to the most countries on a single charge in June 2024. The vanity record breaker drove 567 miles southward through the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, Switzerland, Austria, Liechtenstein and Italy. In a statement regarding the single-charge distance record, he said:
"When I completed the nine-country journey in 2024, it was just the beginning. This new achievement takes that journey even further. I'm proud to be part of a movement that proves electric mobility isn't just the future; it's already redefining what's possible today."
Read more: These Are The Cars Our Readers Wish Would Depreciate Faster
If his background didn't show it, he isn't an elite-level EV hypermiling tuner. The run was done in collaboration with Lucid. The California-based manufacturer likely provided the modifications and expertise necessary to extend the drive far beyond the Lucid Air Grand Touring's EPA-estimated range of 516 miles. Lucid has stripped the record from a privately run Mercedes-Benz EQS 450+. The previous record of 645 miles was set just last month and broke the symbolic 1,000-kilometer barrier. One can only hope that competition for bragging rights between manufacturers will drive the record even further out and lead to technology that will become standard across all EVs.
It's hard to believe that we're only three years removed from Mercedes-Benz Vision EQXX's unveiling. The German automaker built a hyper-efficient electric concept car to prove that an electric vehicle could have 1,000 kilometers of range. However, the one-off car was designed as a bland, blobby teardrop to minimize drag, taking function over form to the extreme. Now, we're seeing typically styled electric cars blasting past the 1,000-km mark. It's impressive to see how far EVs have progressed in recent years, and hopefully, this level of development won't stop.
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