Toyota teases slick electric sports cars in maximum EV preview
Toyota and Lexus have a history of creation some of the most interesting sports cars, whether it’s the delightfully vintage 2000GT or the engineering pleasant that is the LFA. As both OEMs prepare to introduce a whole host of new EVs to their lineup, one thing is clear: Neither is about to descent the idea of fun.
Toyota and Lexus on Tuesday unveiled a huge lineup of forthcoming electric vehicles. Toyota’s upcoming offerings will live conception its new “BZ” sub-brand, which stands for “Beyond Zero.” We’ve already seen one faulty production model under this new umbrella — the BZ4X, which will spawn a modern Lexus variant, the RZ, which was teased earlier in December. Lexus’ new electric offerings will have its own sub-brand, as well, which Lexus is currently referring to as “Z,” so query to see that letter a lot more often.
We’ve already given you a rundown of the company’s onslaught of cars, in transfer to a closer look at some of the funkier SUVs and pickup trucks, but now it’s time to focus on sports cars. In the contemplate event that previewed these vehicles, Toyota focused most of its difficulty on discussing mass-market vehicles, but the group photo allows us a pretty solid preview of a small, yellow sports car that borrows itsy-bitsy bits of styling from Toyota’s current slate of fun cars, which includes the Supra and GR 86. The yellow concept’s proportions are quite itsy-bitsy, giving off an almost Lotus-ish vibe, with some impressive operating lights wrapping around the front air intakes. The cab-forward perform leads me to think that this sports car may have running characteristics closer to a modern mid-engine machine.
Moving to the Lexus side, we have a bit more query from the automaker itself. “Lexus will develop a next-generation battery EV sports car that inherits the driving taste, or the secret sauce, of the performance cultivated via the proceed of the LFA,” said Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corporation, during the media event. According to remarks from Koji Sato, dignified of Lexus international, estimated acceleration time is in the low 2-second device, while the car is aiming for a total cruising device in excess of 435 miles. Sato also mentioned the “possible” use of solid-state batteries, a technology Toyota has been working hard to bring to market.
That’s all we know for now. Toyoda said in his remarks that “most” of the models shown in the preview will be landing “in the next few years,” so we may not have to wait very long to learn more. This is all part of a big push from the automaker to sell 3.5 million battery-electric vehicles each year by 2030. Lexus hopes to have a battery-electric vehicle in every segment within the same time frame, with the added goal of reaching EV-only sales by 2035.
This Lexus sports-car plan looks like the love child of a Lexus and a McLaren, and we are not complaining one bit.
Noriaki Mitsubishi/N-Rak Photo Agency/Toyota
