If there’s one thing on which car manufacturers can be relied upon to do, it’s to release information about hotly anticipated vehicles in dribs and drabs. Rare is the occasion when all hands are totally surprised – though it does happen. Witness when the then-new Ford GT rolled out on a frigid Detroit stage in 2015.
Lexus is doing no such thing with its bevy of upcoming BEVs, a range that could include an all-electric spiritual replacement for the LFA.
While there will surely be plenty of changes between the images shown there and whatever pops out of the pipe for production, it’s good to see this concept isn’t just a one-and-done from the Japanese brand. These new pictures show off impossibly curvaceous rear styling but its tremendously long hood is certainly evocative of the company’s current LC 500 stunner. As this thing is intended to be an EV, there’s no real need for such a proboscis; it’s great to know that stylists are still hard at work making attractive cars and not everything will be turned into soulless transportation pods when the final internal combustion engine goes quiet.
A trio of Lexus BEVs were announced back in December, counting for a sedan and SUV in addition to this sultry coupe. In fact, their collective titles are Sedan, SUV, and Sports – the latter evoking memories of a Huey Lewis album and revealing your author’s rapidly advancing age. It’s all part of a collective vision called Lexus Electrified, introduced by gearhead CEO Akio Toyoda whose penchant for interesting vehicles has done wonders for the Toyota/Lexus lineup over the last decade.
No new details were given about the two-door Sports shown here, other than a regurgitation of the estimated figures quoted back in December: A 0 – 60 mph acceleration estimate in the ‘low two second’ ballpark and an expected all-electric driving range in the neighborhood of 430 miles.
That Lexus Electrified vision has had more than a few landmarks erected on its path since it was first spoken of at the Tokyo show in 2019. The LF-Z Electrified concept car, for example, touted an ‘optimal placement of the battery and electric motors’ plus a take on all-wheel-drive called DIRECT4 which sounds like a cable news program but is actually part and parcel of a proprietary system that allegedly turns up the heat on all-wheel-drive handling. There have been a couple of items from the Lexus Electrified portfolio which have made it to the mainstream – such as easy-to-implement stuff like the L E X U S rear badge billboard – so there’s no reason not to give items like the Sport and DIRECT4 at least a smidgen of credence.
If the brand’s electric future looks like this, we’re on board.
[Images: Lexus]
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