Lucid Air Sapphire Versus Dodge Demon 170: Again, It's Not Even Close

One of these cars was built specifically built for the drag strip. The other has all-wheel drive and tons of power.

By: Christopher Smith

May 6, 2024 at 4:19pm ET

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The Lucid Air Sapphire drag racing chronicles continue. In the last few weeks, we've seen the 1,234-horsepower electric sedan clock a 1.77-second sprint from zero to 60 mph while running an 8.9-second quarter-mile time. That was a solo pass, and it backed up that performance by easily beating its direct competitor in the marketplace, the Tesla Model S Plaid.

The Dodge Challenger Demon 170 is not a Lucid Air competitor. One could easily argue these vehicles are polar opposites, but they do have one thing in common. Both are capable of running under 9 seconds at the drag strip. And now, we have them side-by-side in the latest DragTimes video. On paper, this should be a very close race. Reality, however, is a bit different.

Before we get to that, here's a quick review of the players. The Demon 170 is literally built to live the quarter-mile life. It has 1,025 horsepower from its supercharged V-8, and yes, it's filled with E85 so the engine computer should have all that power available for the runs. Big ol' drag tires are mounted on the back, and inside, you'll find just one seat for the driver. It's completely stock as ordered from the factory, right down to the Demon's dragstrip-tuned suspension that lets it pull wheelies off the line.

But the Lucid Air Sapphire is also factory stock. It has 1,234 hp from a tri-motor powertrain, but you won't find drag slicks on this sizable four-door sedan. It's running Michelin Pilot Sport street tires, and the interior is awash with seats for people to sit in front and back. It's not tuned for drag racing, but that doesn't stop it from beating everything at the track.

And without additional drama, that includes the Demon 170. Despite being built specifically for quarter-mile dragstrips, the Challenger loses this race at every step of the battle. The Demon's best run of three is the first pass where it goes 9.49 at 144.8 mph. But the Sapphire turns the quarter in 9.01 seconds at 153 mph, and it even leaves the line harder despite not having drag tires. The Air Sapphire's all-wheel drive claws its way to a 1.44-second 60-foot time, indicating it's launching very hard. The Demon launches hard too, but at 1.48 seconds, it's not hard enough.

What's next for the Lucid Air Sapphire? We're still holding out hope for a showdown with the Rimac Nevara. That should be quite a match, but until then, Lucid just might own the title for the world's quickest quarter-mile production car.

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