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New Exclusive Information About the Lexus CT 200h

With Lexus' CT 200h official launch at the 2010 Geneva Auto Show, which was some good months ago, most of the intricate questions about the car's every detail have been replied. Most except some of the most important ones, apparently. Stuff like pricing, delivery dates and the actual meaning of the car's name have been left in the shadow by both Lexus and the journalists covering the car's launch.

So it happens that a little birdie from a Lexus dealership has exclusively given us all the missing pieces of the puzzle. This is what we found out. Although presumably launched as either a 2010 or a 2011 model, the CT 200h's orders will begin in this year's autumn, while actual European deliveries of the car will only take place after March 2011.

As far as the naming strategy of the car, most auto journos out there were quick to point out that the "CT" might mean something along the lines of "Compact Tourer", which would of course make sense. Apparently, the answer to this question is even more logical and in-your-face than this. Our sources say that the "CT" actually means "city", as in Lexus' first ever "city car".

The most intriguing piece of information about the new compact hybrid is the fact that it was developed from the start to take on not just the current premium compacts (BMW 1-Series and Audi A3, ed), but a specific version. Case in point, the specific model from which the Lexus CT 200h will try to steal sales from is the 2.0 TDI version of the Audi A3.

Also, the pricing range of the car in Europe will be somewhat similar to that of the aforementioned Audi model, so we should expect two or three differently trimmed CT 200hs to cost somewhere between 30,000 and 40,000 Euros.

Since so far there is only one engine option available for the CT, the comparison between it and a single engine choice from another car manufacturer's model range is actually pretty logical. Don't fret about the lack of choices though, because Lexus has also trademarked the CT 300h and the CT 400h as car model names on certain markets, including the US, and the more powerful engines might arrive as soon as next year.
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About the author: Alex Oagana
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Alex handled his first real steering wheel at the age of five (on a field) and started practicing "Scandinavian Flicks" at 14 (on non-public gravel roads). Following his time at the University of Journalism, he landed his first real job at the local franchise of Top Gear magazine a few years before Mircea (Panait). Not long after, Alex entered the New Media realm with the autoevolution.com project.
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