Lucid Group unveiled its groundbreaking new electric drive unit for motorsports, which can already be found on the race circuit as the standard front drive unit for the world’s leading single-seater electric racing series.
Comprising motor, inverter, differential and transmission all combined, the new motorsports drive unit produces 469 horsepower – despite a weight of only 70.5 pounds (32 kilos) – and is capable of a max rotor speed of 19,500 rpm. It features the same state-of-the-art high-voltage continuous wave winding and proprietary microjet cooling system that can be found in the motors powering the Lucid Air sports sedan.
“With incredible power density of 14.7 hp/kg and immense energy recuperation, this drive unit will once again transform electric motorsports, following in the footsteps of our revolutionary battery pack in prior race seasons,” said Peter Rawlinson, CEO and CTO, Lucid Group. “For Lucid, the transfer of technology between motorsports and road cars is a two-way symbiosis. This new motorsports drive unit builds directly upon the groundbreaking powertrain technology developed in-house by Lucid and proven on the road in every Lucid Air. I’m excited by the prospect that some of the technical advancements introduced may in turn make their way to future Lucid road cars.”
Positioned in the nose cone of every racecar in the current electric world championship, the new Lucid drive unit provides regenerative energy recovery from the front wheels under braking, significantly enhancing the racecar’s performance envelope, efficiency, and relevance to road car advancement.
Just as the motors in the acclaimed Lucid Air sports sedan are designed, engineered, and produced entirely in-house by Lucid, the new motorsports front drive unit is completely proprietary. Lucid drew upon its expertise of e-motor design, power electronics, computer simulation, and design engineering to create this cutting-edge drive unit. Each motorsport drive unit is manufactured to exacting specification in Lucid’s headquarters in California.
