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Luxury brand to give full details of its first bespoke electric car, which will rival the Audi Q4 E-tron

The first bespoke Lexus electric car, to be officially revealed and detailed tomorrow (20 April), will be a sleek, performance-oriented SUV called the RZ450e. 

Already previewed in near-production-ready form when Toyota and Lexus unwrapped 15 all-new electric concept cars late last year, it's based on Toyota’s e-TNGA platform but with bespoke modifications aimed at taking “the driving experience to the next level”. It's a similar size – and is a close visual relation – to the existing NX crossover. 

Photos released as part of Lexus's 2021 global sales data give us a clear view of the RZ. The design is unchanged from the concept shown back in December, featuring an overall look similar to the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X with which it shares its platform, although a black C-pillar helps to create a more streamlined look.

Like its Toyota and Subaru siblings, it sits closer to the ground than a traditional SUV. It also carries forward a number of new design cues seen for the first time on that concept.

97 Lexus rx preview rear

The rear, however, is radically different from the other two cars. A slim rear light bar and spelled-out brand name, features originally found on the LF-Z concept, are likely to define Lexus’s EVs.

The brand’s Europe vice-president, Pascal Ruch, told Autocar that a priority for Lexus is offering “exhilarating driving performance” and hinted that it will offer variants of future EVs that “support the sporty position of the brand”. 

The RZ will have fully variable four-wheel drive and steer-by-wire technology and promises "incredible cornering and roadholding".

98 Lexus rx preview side

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Bespoke modifications – including "lighter and more compact motors", increased body rigidity and Lexus's own Direct4 fully variable four-wheel-drive technology – are aimed at providing "an engaging and rewarding on-road driving experience". 

The Direct4 system allows the RZ to apportion power delivery across both axles "in the blink of an eye", essentially switching instantly between front, rear and all-wheel drive as the situation requires.

Lexus will employ this set-up on all future bespoke EVs, suggesting that each will use a twin-motor set-up.

Felix Page

Felix Page
Title: Deputy editor

Felix is Autocar's deputy editor, responsible for leading the brand's agenda-shaping coverage across all facets of the global automotive industry - both in print and online.

He has interviewed the most powerful and widely respected people in motoring, covered the reveals and launches of today's most important cars, and broken some of the biggest automotive stories of the last few years. 

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scrap 19 April 2022

It's quite something when Lexus (a wholly owned Toyota brand) gets more design freedom than Subaru (minority stake owned by Toyota but officially a separate company).

Also, it's noteworthy that no new challenger company has emerged from Japan this century. The established giants seem to have it all to themselves.

 

TS7 19 April 2022
There's a lot going on in that rear 3/4 area.
Harry P 2 February 2022

I assume the range and performance will be similar to the recently announced Toyota BZ4x which shares the same platform. So decent rather than outstanding. I think the styling is the best we have seen from Lexus for a while.  I would also have more confidence of long term reliability from Lexus than I would from any other EV manufacturer.