Guess Who Wins: Lucid Gravity Takes On Rivian R1S Quad In Drag Race

There are two new electric SUVs on the market that have ridiculous power: the second-generation Rivian R1S Quad, which makes 1,025 horsepower, and the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition, which makes 1,070 horsepower. Jason Cammisa over at Hagerty decided the world needs to see these two race, and we thank him for it. For context, he also brought along a Porsche Macan EV, as well as two gas-powered SUVs in the Audi Q8 RS and Range Rover Sport SV.

The stars of the show, however, are the Rivian and the Lucid, and boy do they put on a performance. They both have the ability to warp space and time in the span of a quarter mile, but they do it so differently and, at the end of the day, there is a clear winner. Spoiler alert: it’s the Lucid Gravity with a come-from-behind win that shocked the video’s host. Let’s take a deeper look at what happened.

Quarter-Mile Breakdown

Hagerty conducted three separate quarter-mile races in this video. The first was between the Audi Q8 RS and Range Rover Sport SV, which the Q8 RS won handily thanks to its lighter weight and slight horsepower edge over the Range Rover. The second race, however, was the main event that pitted the Rivian and Lucid against each other and also included the Porsche Macan EV and the Audi RSQ8.

The R1S Quad and Macan EV both had terrific launches, with the Rivian taking a strong early lead. The Lucid, meanwhile, looked like it was toast, falling behind the other two immediately and staying there through 60 miles per hour. Then something happened.

By The Numbers

Remember in Back to the Future III when Doc Brown threw those colored logs (they were actually called Presto Logs) into the time-traveling locomotive for an acceleration burst so it would reach 88 mph before the train tracks ended? The Lucid apparently runs on Doc Brown’s logs. After 60 mph, it begins accelerating like a literal freight train. In short order, it’s ahead of both the Porsche and the Rivian and crosses the line in first. The Rivian is right behind, with the Macan EV taking third and the RS Q8 being an afterthought.

What’s interesting is that, after rounding, the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition and Rivian R1S Quad both finished the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds, an astonishing time for two SUVs both weighing well over 6,000 pounds. The curious thing, though, is that the Rivian is no longer accelerating when it reaches the finish line, bumping up against its 130-mph speed limiter that begins robbing it of power early. The Lucid, though, is still accelerating as hard at 130 mph as a Volkswagen Golf GTI is at 30 mph. It finishes with an astonishing trap speed of 139 mph.

Just for fun, Hagerty concludes the video with a third drag race between the Rivian, Lucid, and a Porsche Panamera Turbo SE Hybrid, which is essentially the best hybrid performance sedan in the world. The result? Nearly a three-way tie when rounding the numbers, but the Lucid again finishes first by a hair.

TopSpeed’s Take

If there were any questions remaining regarding which powertrain is better for outright performance, this video should answer it: electric vehicles are quicker than gas-powered vehicles, period. Pitting the two against each other like in this Hagerty video, is, frankly, embarrassing for the internal combustion engine (ICE). You can wax poetic about the sound, the smell, and the vibrations of ICE vehicles, but you will be reciting your poem a few car lengths back from the EV that’s currently whooping your ass.

The Rivian R1S Quad and the Lucid Gravity Dream Edition, meanwhile, are apex killers wearing SUV suits. They’re like if a hypercar had to go into Witness Protection. You would never guess what they could do just by looking at them, but they possess the means to outperform 99-percent of high-performance vehicles on the day. And they can each fit three car seats across in the back. Incredible.