Only weeks after proudly reporting that an Air Grand Touring Performance garnered a heavyweight accolade at Goodwood, luxury EV upstart Lucid is back in the news with the Sapphire, an Air variant of a different cut introduced at Monterey’s Quail Lodge exposition.

But the Air Sapphire is a model and a division, too; Lucid is already spinning off a luxury brand, and Sapphire is its moniker. Dressed in its fetching suit of Imperial Blue, the pre-production version is luxury car and competitor as well; Lucid informs that Imperial Blue has been the de facto color of American motorsports for decades.

The company had very good results with the launch editions of its capable, comfortable and tech-heavy Air sedan, the Air Dream R and P variants, and to some degree the Air Sapphire represents the logical extension of a marketing effort that converted beautifully. If this Air had a direct progenitor, it would be the Air Dream P — P for ‘performance’ — as the Sapphire is another frisson-inducer; its 1,200-horsepower powertrain bests the 1,100-horsepower Dream P.

The Sapphire’s identity as the crown jewel in the Air lineup is most readily distinguished by its price: at $249,000, it’s by far the most expensive Lucid yet. Like other automakers, Lucid is positioning itself in the luxury car market in an age when being a millionaire does not preclude middle-class status. Additional Sapphire models will likely include themed one-offs, a super-high-end SUV, and perhaps a roadster.

0-60 in less than two seconds is the fundamental performance headline of the Air Sapphire, but the long list of performance-oriented features that follows is perhaps more engaging. This is a figurehead model, after all. And so the Sapphire features three new electric motors in a torque-vectoring layout, large carbon ceramic disc brakes, ‘Aero Sapphire’ wheels, and a stiffer ride than its Air siblings. All that, and ‘limo-like legroom’ too.

Lucid plans to begin production of the Air Sapphire midway through 2023.