Photo: Newspress
Under a veil of near-total secrecy, Lexus and Toyota seem to be prepared for the zero-emissions future. Last week, we reported on how the companies have dropped all development of V8 engines, and it seems as though the development money is going toward Tesla-fighters.
For many years, Toyota has been against pure electric vehicles. From an engineering standpoint, their decision was correct, as a Prius might have had a lower total carbon footprint. But if they're now switching to EVs, it means groundbreaking tech could be on the way.
Lexus Enthusiast has just reported that a new nameplate called RZ 450e has been registered with patent offices in America, Europe, and Australia at roughly the same time. That commitment alone means this is a global car, not one of those models they have to build in order to comply with regulations.
In addition, the name of the vehicle is that of a production model, as all concepts lack the numeric designation. This doesn't necessarily imply the power output, the RX 350 and the RX 450h are only separated by a few ponies.
Speaking of which, it's reasonable to expect the RZ to have a sporty coupe body on top of a crossover body. Nearly all luxury automakers made their first EV in this style, usually in the size of their most popular SUVs - Audi e-tron, Mercedes EQC, BMW iX3, etc.
The RX is by far the most popular Lexus model in the world. The name is supposed to be short for "Radiant Crossover," and as you can imagine, that's a term rarely used in press releases.
In terms of design, Lexus did show some previews. In January 2018, we had the LF-1 Limitless, which was officially described as an EV crossover. At the time, Toyota says that “by around 2025, every model in the Toyota and Lexus line-up around the world will be available either as a dedicated electrified model or have an electrified option.”
Also, at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, they showed the LF-30. This concept had a low body and powered itself using four electric motors with a total output of 536 hp.
Lexus Enthusiast has just reported that a new nameplate called RZ 450e has been registered with patent offices in America, Europe, and Australia at roughly the same time. That commitment alone means this is a global car, not one of those models they have to build in order to comply with regulations.
In addition, the name of the vehicle is that of a production model, as all concepts lack the numeric designation. This doesn't necessarily imply the power output, the RX 350 and the RX 450h are only separated by a few ponies.
Speaking of which, it's reasonable to expect the RZ to have a sporty coupe body on top of a crossover body. Nearly all luxury automakers made their first EV in this style, usually in the size of their most popular SUVs - Audi e-tron, Mercedes EQC, BMW iX3, etc.
The RX is by far the most popular Lexus model in the world. The name is supposed to be short for "Radiant Crossover," and as you can imagine, that's a term rarely used in press releases.
In terms of design, Lexus did show some previews. In January 2018, we had the LF-1 Limitless, which was officially described as an EV crossover. At the time, Toyota says that “by around 2025, every model in the Toyota and Lexus line-up around the world will be available either as a dedicated electrified model or have an electrified option.”
Also, at last year's Tokyo Motor Show, they showed the LF-30. This concept had a low body and powered itself using four electric motors with a total output of 536 hp.
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