Lexus is going in a new direction.
These teaser images show a concept car it says will guide the future designs from Toyota’s luxury division. The look is a dramatic departure from today’s Lexus lineup.
Virtually every car brand has a theme for its designs. This design language defines the shape of its cars, making the various models obviously related to one another and different from their rivals. Some reach iconic status and stay the same across decades, but most get a rethink every 10 to 15 years. Park a 1974 Porsche 911 next to a 2021 Porsche Taycan, and no one would doubt that they’re family. Park a 1989 Lexus ES 250 next to a 2021 Lexus IS 350 with the badges removed, however, and no one would know.
This concept car is a reimagination of the Lexus look. Koji Sato, Lexus president, and chief branding officer says the concept “illustrates our intentions for the future, and marks the beginning of the next generation of Lexus.”
No More Lexus Logo?
The design is in heavy shadow, as many automotive teaser images these days seem to be. But we can discern a low, rakish roofline with a unique fin recessed into the middle of the rear glass (probably a stylized antenna, but a gorgeous way of presenting one). It has a muscular rear bumper much wider than the glass that sits above it. The Lexus name stretches across the trunk in a new font, in place of the stylized L-badge logo. There may be a light bar across the top of the trunk, and the car notably lacks an exhaust, indicating that this is probably an electric vehicle (EV). We haven’t seen the front, and thus have no idea whether the hourglass grille that characterizes today’s Lexus lineup remains (or, in the case of an EV, gets a reference in some way).
Lexus will unveil the car in full this spring, along with a presentation on the future direction of the company. While we have no details, it seems reasonable to expect that Lexus will be following the rest of the industry in reorienting most of its lineup toward EVs.
