Compare the2026 Rolls-Royce SpectreVS 2026 Lucid Motors Air

The Spectre’s pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The Air doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

To provide maximum traction and stability on all roads, Full-Time Four-Wheel Drive is standard on the Spectre. But it costs extra on the Air.

The Spectre has standard Rolls Royce Assist, which uses a global positioning satellite (GPS) receiver and a cellular system to remotely unlock your doors if you lock your keys in, help track down your vehicle if it’s stolen or send emergency personnel to the scene if any airbags deploy. The Air doesn’t offer a GPS response system, only a navigation computer with no live response for emergencies, so if you’re involved in an accident and you’re incapacitated help may not come as quickly.

Both the Spectre and the Air have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, around view monitors, rear cross-path warning and driver alert monitors.

The Rolls-Royce Spectre weighs 1107 to 1879 pounds more than the Lucid Motors Air. The NHTSA advises that heavier cars are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

The Spectre comes with a full 4-year/unlimited-mile basic warranty, which covers the entire car and includes 24-hour roadside assistance. The Air’s 4-year/50,000-mile basic warranty expires sooner.

Rolls-Royce pays for scheduled maintenance on the Spectre for 2 years and unlimited miles longer than Lucid Motors pays for maintenance for the Air (4/unlimited vs. 2/24,000).

As tested in Motor Trend the Rolls-Royce Spectre (base engine) is faster than the Air Pure electric motor:

For better stopping power the Spectre’s standard brake rotors are larger than those on the Air:

The Spectre stops much shorter than the Air:

For better traction, the Spectre has larger standard tires than the Air (F:255/45R22 & R:285/40R22 vs. 245/45R19).

The Spectre’s standard 285/40R22 rear tires provide better handling because they have a lower 40 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Air’s standard 45 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Spectre has standard 22-inch wheels. Smaller 19-inch wheels are standard on the Air. The Spectre’s optional 23-inch wheels are larger than the 21-inch wheels optional on the Air.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Spectre can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The Air doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

The Spectre has active sway bars, which help keep it flat and controlled during cornering, but disconnect at lower speeds to smooth the ride and offer greater off-road suspension articulation. This helps keep the tires glued to the road on-road and off. The Air doesn’t offer an active sway bar system.

The front and rear suspension of the Spectre uses air springs for a smoother, controlled ride than the Air, which uses coil springs. Air springs maintain proper ride height and ride more smoothly.

The Spectre offers an available adjustable active suspension system, which counteracts cornering forces actively, limiting body roll and improving handling and stability. Lucid Motors doesn’t offer an active suspension on the Air.

The Spectre has a standard automatic front and rear load leveling suspension to keep ride height level with a heavy load or when towing. The Spectre’s height leveling suspension allows the driver to raise ride height for better off-road clearance and then lower it again for easier entering and exiting and better on-road handling. The Air doesn’t offer a load leveling suspension.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Spectre’s wheelbase is 9.9 inches longer than on the Air (126.4 inches vs. 116.5 inches).

The Spectre handles at .90 G’s, while the Air Grand Touring pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

With its coupe body style and remote trunk release lockout, the Spectre offers cargo security. The Air’s non-lockable remote release defeats cargo security.

A standard locking glovebox keeps your small valuables safer in the Spectre. The Air doesn’t offer locking storage for small valuables.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the Air, the Spectre has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position, outside mirror angle, climate settings and radio stations and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Spectre has a standard heads-up display that projects speed, warning and infotainment readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Air doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

If the windows are left open on the Spectre the driver can close all of them from a distance using the remote. On a hot day the driver can also lower the windows the same way. The driver of the Air can only operate the windows from inside the vehicle, with the ignition on.

Heated windshield washer nozzles are standard on the Spectre to prevent washer fluid and nozzles from freezing and help continue to keep the windshield clear in sub-freezing temperatures. The Air doesn’t offer heated windshield washer nozzles.

The Spectre’s power mirror controls are mounted on the armrest for easy access. The Air’s power mirror controls are embedded in the infotainment system, seriously distracting drivers who have to adjust them while driving.

The Spectre’s standard rear and side view mirrors have an automatic dimming feature. These mirrors can be set to automatically darken quickly when headlights shine on them, keeping following vehicles from blinding or distracting the driver. The Air has an automatic rear view mirror, but its side mirrors don’t dim.

The Spectre has a standard heated steering wheel to take the chill out of steering on extremely cold winter days before the car heater warms up. A heated steering wheel costs extra on the Air.