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The votes are tallied, the results are in. MotorTrend has crowned its 2022 Car of the Year award. The winner is the 2022 Lucid Air EV. The MotorTrend judges chose the electric sedan because of Lucid’s significant advances in EV motors and batteries.

You can order a 2022 Lucid Air with 1,000+ horsepower or 500+ miles of range–but not both

The 2022 Lucid Air won MotorTrend’s prestigious “Car of the Year” award. Lucid’s new sedan comes in five trims: Air Pure, Air Touring, Air Grand Touring, Air Dream Edition (Range), and Air Dream Edition (Performance). The automaker is beginning production on the top three trims in quarter four of 2021. However, base models will not go on sale until next year.

This is the 2022 Lucid Air, the winner of MotorTrend's Car of the Year award. | Lucid
2022 Lucid Air, MotorTrend’s Car of the Year | Lucid

The electric vehicle market features offerings from Mercedes, Ford, and multiple start-ups. Lucid’s Dream Edition of the Air boasts performance numbers that blow most other EVs out of the water. The “Range” version made headlines by surpassing Tesla with Lucid’s 520-mile range. Alternatively, buyers can opt for the “Performance” version rated at 1,111 horsepower. But it is not these jaw-dropping numbers that won the Lucid Air MotorTrend’s Car of the Year award.

Lucid Air won Car of the Year for its advanced technology

To achieve its unprecedented performance numbers, Lucid had to reinvent everything but the wheel. So MotorTrend’s reviewers honed in on two critical areas of engineering excellence for the 2022 Lucid Air: motors and batteries. 

The engineers at Lucid created smaller, more efficient electric motors than used in competing EVs. This comes down to an innovative stator winding of 24 square copper wires woven together. In addition, the engine features cooling passages running between these winding passages. Finally, each motor can operate left and right wheels thanks to a differential inside the rotor.

Lucid’s team also pioneered a new way to assemble the Air’s lithium-ion battery. To simplify assembly, a single injection-molded case houses the entire battery. Lucid replaces wires in the pack with low-resistance ribbon connectors. Finally, the battery dissipates heat more efficiently because of how its cells are arranged.

MotorTrend’s Car of the Year award

MotorTrend established its Car of the Year award in 1949. Every year the publication bestows a set of golden calipers to signify excellence in engineering to the best new or redesigned Car. In recent years, the field of new or redesigned sedans and coupes has been a bit slim. With crossovers and SUVs dominating the market, MotorTrend only had 16 competitors for 2022’s Car of the Year award.

Though not many coupes and sedans competed for 2022’s Car of the Year award, the judges had difficulty choosing a different winner. This year’s contenders included several brilliantly engineered, groundbreaking vehicles. Contenders included the Audi E-Tron GT, Karma GS-6, and Chevrolet Bolt. Finalists that nearly took the award from the 2022 Lucid Air included the Mercedes-EQ EQS and the Porsche Taycan. 

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Staff Writer

Henry Cesari

Henry Cesari joined MotorBiscuit in 2021 and brings his deep interest in vintage cars, trucks, and motorcycles to the site. Having restored his first classic car at just 16 years old, Henry has wrenched on everything from overland campers to Japanese motorcycles and even pre-war Bugattis. Henry is also an avid attendee at local car shows and genuinely enjoys connecting with fellow auto enthusiasts.

Henry earned a Bachelor’s in Anthropology and English from the University of Vermont. He has since incorporated his love of the written word with his admiration of classic cars. While Henry is interested in vintage cars, he believes the golden age of cars is yet to come. He is confident journalists will play an important role in this revolution by exposing the industry as it is now and envisioning its possible future.