Lexus, a company that used to be known for making conservative cars for senior citizens, is now becoming more adventurous by the day. What better proof is there than the LF-FC concept car, which was revealed today at the Tokyo Motor Show and previews the next generation of the LS flagship sedan?
It will be interesting to see how much of this groundbreaking design will make it into production. However, knowing what they've done with the RC coupe and the NX crossover, we're expecting an S-Class rival that looks like it came from the future.
Because electric motors no longer seem quite so groundbreaking, Toyota is taking a huge stride in an entirely different direction. Taking cues from the Toyota Mirai, the LF-FC is powered by a fuel cell that turns hydrogen into water and electricity. If that, wrapped in a 5.3-meter body, doesn't draw attention to the power of Japanese engineering, nothing will.
The LF-FC is a big car and has been styled to look like a grand tourer. The spindle grille still takes center stage, but it has been wrapped around the bumper, showing a 90-degree bend in the middle, where the blue Lexus badge sits.
Large vertical air intakes dominate the sides of the front bumper, while the LED headlights are L-shaped and float off the body at the bottom.
“Lexus wants to surprise and evoke emotion with its distinctive design and forward-thinking technology. For us, it is more than just a car, and we should exceed conventional imagination. The LF-FC expresses our progressive luxury and high-tech vision of a not so distant future,” said Tokuo Fukuichi, Lexus International President.
Touchscreens and wood
The interior plays into the idea of this concept being a four-door coupe, not a traditional sedan. All the seats are individual and the rear ones also have lower leg support. If you like boats and wood decking, you're going to love the layered cake they made out of wood for many of the trim pieces. However, the tech-savvy also have something to enjoy, as all the controls are touchscreens. There are even little ones on the doors and the sides of the seats. It's crazy!
The LF-FC's fuel cell stack is positioned at the back of the concept and sends power to the powerful rear motor or the in-wheel motors at the front. There aren't any performance numbers, but we know Lexus has plans to put a fuel-celled flagship into production, which doesn't mean there won't be any nice V8s offered as well.
Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida. Full profile
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