Lucid’s 1234-HP EV Supersedan Hits 200 MPH Way Quicker Than the 1250-HP Hybrid Corvette ZR1X

• During our latest 0-to-150-to-0 speed test, we raised the stakes and attempted runs to 200 mph.
• The Chevy Corvette ZR1X, Lucid Air Sapphire, and McLaren 750S all completed trips; the Porsche 911 Turbo S didn’t reach its claimed 200-mph top speed, earning a DNF.
• Lucid’s 1234-hp electric sedan made it from 0–200–0 in 25.7 seconds, which is 6.1 seconds faster than the ZR1X and 12.0 seconds faster than the 750S.

Welcome to Car and Driver's Testing Hub, where we zoom in on the test numbers. We've been pushing vehicles to their limits since 1956 to provide objective data to bolster our subjective impressions (you can see how we test here).

If traveling to 150 mph and back as quickly as possible is a challenge, how about 200 mph? This is the kind of thought we have when eating breakfast. So, with a 2.2-mile-long taxiway at our disposal, we lined up the cars that could theoretically do it, and after airing up the tires to keep them intact, we let ‘em rip.

While accelerating quickly to 60 mph is about power-to-weight ratio, getting to 200 mph requires massive quantities of horsepower. That’s because the primary factor for getting from 150 to 200 mph is aerodynamics, with the difference in power required to overcome drag at 200 mph 2.4 times higher than at 150 and eight times higher than at 100. Almost every vehicle on the road can hit the century mark, but 200 is rarefied air.

Then there’s stopping. With the extra 50 mph of speed, a vehicle’s brakes must convert 1.8 times as much energy to heat.

Four in our field make the cut, all producing more than 700 horsepower. Despite a claimed top speed of 200 mph, the Porsche 911 Turbo S registered a DNF after it hit a governor at 199.3 (an indicated 208).

The aerodynamic effects are clear in the acceleration data, where you can see it takes the Lucid Air Sapphire longer to accelerate from 150 to 200 than from a standing start to 150. And that’s the best case. The ZR1X’s giant rear wing helps erect an aerodynamic wall above 150 mph for the Corvette, which can do an entire 0-to-150-to-0 run in the time it takes to accelerate that last 50 mph. Still, getting to 200 in the Lucid, which peaks at a governed 208 mph, feels effortless, and it gets there more than seven seconds sooner than the ZR1X and more than 13 seconds ahead of the McLaren, aided by slipperier aero and extra oomph.

Unsurprisingly, both sports cars have a dramatic advantage in braking over the big sedan, which takes the better part of a quarter-mile to stop. But that less-than-a-second advantage barely chips away at the Lucid’s massive acceleration lead. The Sapphire goes to 200 mph and back in 25.7 seconds—in less than a mile! That’s 12.0 seconds quicker than the 750S and 6.1 seconds quicker than the ZR1X. It’s also 1.7 seconds quicker than the far-from-slow Hyundai Ioniq 5 N takes to make it to a buck-fifty and back. It’s a new benchmark.

➡️ Skip the lot. Let Car and Driver help you find your next car.

Dave VanderWerp has spent more than 20 years in the automotive industry, in varied roles from engineering to product consulting, and now leading Car and Driver's vehicle-testing efforts. Dave got his very lucky start at C/D by happening to submit an unsolicited resume at just the right time to land a part-time road warrior job when he was a student at the University of Michigan, where he immediately became enthralled with the world of automotive journalism.