This Lexus supercar concept is an LFA for the future, but does it have a V10?
A few months since it was unveiled in Monterey, we’ve taken a closer look at the Lexus Sport Concept in Tokyo
A few years ago Lexus gave us the ‘Electrified Sport’ concept, and while this car might not have entered production as soon as Lexus suggested it would, we’ve now received this instead. The new Sport concept, shown for the first time at Monterey car week earlier this year, refines that same design to create a bold two-door supercar, and what would be a spiritual successor to the iconic LFA.
Just like the incoming Toyota GR GT supercar, this model has a sleek cab-rear silhouette, with a long, dramatic bonnet, huge rear diffuser and even an expansive rear deck complete with an integrated drone (no, we’re not sure why either).
> Lexus LFA (2009 - 2012) review – the ultimate Japanese supercar
Design aside, the big question is what will power this new supercar and while Lexus hasn’t confirmed or denied anything on the matter, we do know that it will at least be heavily electrified – the reveal of its cabin at the Japan Mobility Show reveals that it has a ‘charging’ percentage. Whether or not this system will be assisted by an internal combustion engine is yet to be seen.
Based on the sound of the Toyota GR supercar during testing and its appearance at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, we know it will come with a V8, but things aren’t so certain with this. Of course, this is still a concept for now and so details may change with time, but a preview of the sound it will make clearly relates to that of the screaming 4.8-litre V10 in the LFA.
The only catch is that it also makes a synthetic, futuristic electric vehicle sound at the flick of a switch. Chances are then that this is not a car with a V10, but simply replicates one instead.
The concept this model appears to be a development of featured a twin-motor setup for all-wheel drive, and a steer-by-wire system. That car was also expected to utilise cutting-edge lithium-ion battery tech, targeting an acceleration time to 62mph in the low-2sec zone along with a range of 434 miles. Whether or not the new Sport concept will share any of these stats is yet to be confirmed.
Inside it's all very futuristic, with a cascading, backlit element framing the driver’s zone and a curved digital dashboard sat behind a yoke-style steering wheel. This wheel includes various dials and switches, with one for 'F-mode', suggesting it might just fall within the Lexus 'F' line should it make it to production.
One interesting detail is that the dashboard on this concept features an ‘M’ for manual. While this car clearly doesn’t have a manual gearstick, the Toyota group has already experimented with a virtual manual in an EV, making the use of similar technology in this car likely – whether or not it will more closely resemble the paddle-based virtual shift function of something like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is yet to be seen.
With the Lexus RC F dead and the LC500 not far behind it, the launch of a new performance coupe would plug this gap neatly. We’ll just have to wait and see if anything makes an appearance and what it will be powered by.
