Currently reading: Lexus to reveal new electric concept next week

Japanese firm will showcase 'new brand vision' with bold concept car

Lexus has released further teaser images of a new electric concept car, which will preview its next generation of vehicles and is set to be revealed next week.

The Japanese firm first hinted at the car with a pair of darkened images late last year. The new images show the car's silhouette, hinting at a coupé-style body. A close-up of the bonnet also hints at a bold flat frontal area.

The car is due to be revealed on Tuesday 30 March.

Lexusteaser 4

Lexus has given no further details of the car beyond saying that it will "introduce a renewed brand vision" and that it "previews the next generation of Lexus vehicles". It has previously hinted the machine will be a bespoke EV.

The hybrid-focused firm currently has just one electric car on its books, the UX 300e, but that was adapted from a petrol-electric model. It's believed the as-yet-unnamed model will be based on parent firm Toyota's new e-TNGA EV platform. 

The concept will hint at how the design team will approach bespoke EVs, but it's not yet clear how production-ready the car shown will be. 

Design chief Koichi Suga said it will demonstrate how Lexus’s bold ‘spindle’ grille will evolve, due to the lack of a radiator needed for an EV. He said that offered "a chance to express our unique design". 

Lexus kenshiki december 2020 teaser

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Suga said that "rather than a specific shape," the future design emphasis for Lexus EVs would be "more about expressing the technological foundations in three dimensions". He added that the firm was working on designs that took inspiration from Lexus's driving dynamics which offered "a unique modelling expression".

Lexus has also outlined its new Direct4 electric drive control system, which it says will be a key feature in ensuring its future models offer "unique dynamic performance".

The new system is intended as a key technical pillar of Lexus's wider electrification push, as part of a series of measures aimed to produce "a fundamental leap in vehicle performance, handling, control and driver enjoyment".

The Direct4 system can be used on both hybrid and fully electric cars and utilises front and rear 'e-axles'. Each axle is mated to a high-torque electric motor and allows torque to be sent independently to all four wheels through a single driveshaft.

The system can automatically adjust power and torque between the front, and Lexus claims that it increases dynamic cornering performance while also improving comfort and reducing noise.

Takashi Watanabe, Lexus Electrified's chief engineer, said the Direct4 system could also be used on hybrids, with the front-mounted petrol motor driving the front axle and an e-axle with a motor at the rear. 

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James Attwood

James Attwood, digital editor
Title: Acting magazine editor

James is Autocar's acting magazine editor. Having served in that role since June 2023, he is in charge of the day-to-day running of the world's oldest car magazine, and regularly interviews some of the biggest names in the industry to secure news and features, such as his world exclusive look into production of Volkswagen currywurst. Really.

Before first joining Autocar in 2017, James spent more than a decade in motorsport journalist, working on Autosport, autosport.com, F1 Racing and Motorsport News, covering everything from club rallying to top-level international events. He also spent 18 months running Move Electric, Haymarket's e-mobility title, where he developed knowledge of the e-bike and e-scooter markets. 

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gavsmit 1 February 2021

Oh great - yet another hugely expensive electric car.

I think I'll buy a bigger house and enjoy a few more years of my current ICE car instead.

Andy_Cowe 1 February 2021

Hopefully it is not yet another SUV. Overly tall cars are not efficient, they are the opposite of environmentally friendly. It blunts the efficiency advantage of electric cars.

xxxx 23 March 2021
Andy_Cowe wrote:

Hopefully it is not yet another SUV. Overly tall cars are not efficient, they are the opposite of environmentally friendly. It blunts the efficiency advantage of electric cars.

Lotus elise owners think hatchbacks are to tall and some say saloon cars are too long. Horses for courses I say