Its makers claim that this armoured Lucid Air can both top 200 mph and stop a .44 Magnum round.
When it comes to creating a car that can protect its occupants within from any external physical threat, one pretty good way of doing so is to just be fast enough to outrun said danger in the first place. And it is likely with this train of logic that the US Armor Group has recently developed this custom armoured Lucid Air Sapphire, for which they are currently touting as the ‘world’s fastest armoured vehicle’.
Now according to the Los Angeles-based armourers, this Lucid here earns that speedy title from it to still supposedly be capable of breaching the 200 mph (320 km/h) barrier. What more is that even with the added armour on board, there are currently claims too for its still-standard 1,234 horsepower tri-motor powertrain on this armoured Air to apparently still be capable of rocketing this EV from 0-100 km/h close to its factory sub 2-second time.
This amazing feat of performance retention while adding enough protection to stop a .44 Magnum handgun round comes primarily from the vehicle armour on board reportedly weighing in at just 175 kg. A figure which, for all intents and purposes, is really only barely the equivalent weight of two extra adult occupants!
This amazingly lightweight protection package that has been added to the Lucid here includes for all of its glass to be replaced by a bespoke laminated transparent armour, which is said to be strong enough stop the aforementioned Magnum round. A military-grade composite armour in turn fortifies its doors and body panels, with the armourer quoting for this material being 10 times stronger than ballistic steel yet five times lighter.
Aside from all the additional armouring too, the Lucid’s already tech-laden cabin has further been upgraded with an “impenetrable” Wi-Fi system designed to protect private data from hackers. A scanner system with access to local emergency services has also been added to this EV’s preventative security arsenal, as well as a new one-touch direct line to the US Armor Group that makes requesting for additional assistance that little bit easier.
As for those who want even more gadgets meanwhile, the US Armor Group will actually be more than happy to also include some toys to one’s armoured EV that seemingly come straight out of the world of James Bond. The list of optional extras that can be ticked includes pepper spray dispensers, gun ports, in addition to poison gas protection and detection devices.
Even electro-shock door handles are apparently available with this armoured Lucid as well, though there is unfortunately no mention on whether the roof-mounted drone seen on the Dubai police’s Air is to be among the options on offer. Stronger armour capable of stopping high-powered rifles and explosives are nevertheless to naturally be on the options list, but it is similarly not clear thus far as how the presumably added heft of these more protective pieces will affect this EV’s performance.
Touching finally on the price here of this armoured Lucid, all this added protection and security packages is unfortunately but expectedly to cost a pretty penny. The US Armor Group is currently asking for $475,000 (RM 2.1 million) for its armoured Air Sapphire, which is about nearly double the $250,500 (RM 1.1 million) list price of this flagship performance EV.
