Lexus will go all-electric from 2035, and new supercar concept hints at EV performance aspirations
Lexus is developing an all-electric supercar to serve as a spiritual successor to the LFA, which will launch by 2030.
Shown in concept form as part of the shock unveiling of 15 new Toyota and Lexus EV concepts, the new model will be one of the electric cars launched by Lexus as it ramps up to phasing out combustion. It will offer an EV in all segments by 2030, by which point it will only sell electric cars in Europe, North America and China, and five years later will end ICE car sales altogether.
The concept is described as “a battery-EV sports car which inherits the driving taste, or the ‘secret sauce’, of the performance cultivated via the development of the LFA”. Experience gained from developing this car will extend to other future Lexus EVs as part of a drive to emphasise the brand’s dynamic focus.
“The endless pursuit of the Lexus Driving Signature will move to the next stage through development of the new Sports Battery EV,” said Lexus’s chief branding officer Koji Sato. It will be a model, he said, which “symbolises the future of the brand”.
Lexus is targeting a 0-100km/h time in “the low two second range” and a range of more than 700km. The supercar concept has been earmarked as a possible early recipient of solid state batteries, which parent company Toyota recently revealed plans to install in production EVs from the middle of the decade.
Before that, however, the firm will deploy solid state batteries first in hybrid cars, which will allow it to “test and evaluate the technology” before rolling it out to pure-electric equivalents.
The concept bears minimal resemblance to any Lexus model currently on sale, with a long bonnet (despite its lack of an engine) lending itself to a distinctive cab-rear silhouette. It’s clearly a hardcore proposition, with low-profile tyres, a prominent aero package, gaping air intakes and even a red tow strap at the front which hints at its intended track use billing.
Lexus will officially reveal its first bespoke EV, the RZ crossover, in the coming months ahead of a market launch before mid-2022. The SUV was shown alongside the supercar in near-production-ready form.
Felix Page
Keyword: Lexus reveals ‘LFA’ EV supercar concept