A new Lexus LFA successor is on its way, but instead of a screaming V10, this supercar will be powered by batteries.
It’s been a while since Toyota has dabbled in the supercar genre, and probably for good reason. Although its last attempt, the Lexus-badged LFA, was a fantastic car, it was a notorious economic failure. However, with a new era of propulsion methods now upon us, it seems as though there is room for a Toyota/Lexus halo car once more.
Of course, since the original LFA bit the dust, Lexus has quietly sold the criminally underrated LC 500 in humble quantities. But, although that V8-engined beauty bears a resemblance to the LFA, it’s more of a grand tourer than an all-out supercar. This new successor, however, is set to return the marque to the upper echelons of performance.
At this point, we should probably point out that the final product won’t look exactly like the car you see in the photos attached to this article. That car is merely the Electrified Sport Concept, which was unveiled earlier this year to preview Lexus’ future design language. As such, it’s safe to bet that although it won’t be an exact replica, the new Lexus LFA successor will still have a long-bonneted silhouette that echoes this one – despite the transition to electric power.
Underpinning the pretty exterior, a bespoke platform is set to be used. Unlike anything else seen in current Lexus or Toyota models, the car will incorporate a unique chassis and twin-motor electric powertrain.
The steering system is also state-of-the-art stuff. Lexus intends to incorporate a steer-by-wire system, which might take a while to trust fully, but should result in a great deal of tunable feedback and response. What’s more, a Tesla-style yoke is set to take the place of a traditional steering wheel. This will be a controversial move, but Lexus assures us that the car’s fully variable steering ratio will remove the need for hand-over-hand maneuvers, which is where the Tesla system drew in such criticism.
To us though, the most interesting element of this announcement is none of the above. Instead, it’s Lexus’ pledge that it won’t merely go chasing after horsepower figures.
Ultimately, as things stand, electric performance cars tend to be one-trick ponies: fast in a straight line, but not overly rewarding elsewhere. Thankfully, it appears as though Lexus and Toyota are pretty intent on changing that. So, while this new supercar will undoubtedly be rapid, it’s also set to include a range of innovative tech designed to improve driver feedback.
Who knows, maybe we could be looking at the first true electric driver’s car…
Remind yourself how good the original LFA Nurburgring edition sounds:
