Lexus Sport Concept (LFR?) Interior Revealed at Tokyo Motor Show
The Lexus Sport Concept interior is quite stylish and futuristic, also providing clues that some sort of electrified powertrain is present, too.
We’ve been waiting quite a long time for the official unveiling of what many believe will be called the Lexus LFR – the first true LFA successor. After enduring years of rumors – including some that claimed it would debut this past summer, though that never happened – the all-new Lexus Sport Concept was unveiled at The Quail, A Motorsport Gathering, giving us what most believe is a preview of the forthcoming production model. Now, at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, we’re getting our first look at the interior of the Lexus Sport Concept, too.
First off, it’s worth noting that the Lexus Sport Concept present at the Tokyo Motor Show isn’t exactly identical to the one featured in Carmel, California, this past August. Rather, it seems as if Lexus made a few minor tweaks to its exterior trim, but otherwise, it isn’t radically different. Regardless, the interior IS quite radical in terms of its nature, with the love-it-or-hate-it yoke-style steering wheel front and center.
Click on this image to see a larger steering wheel photo.
That controversial piece perhaps hints at a drive-by-wire system (that we first saw on the RZ) and plays a big role in what is a driver-focused and futuristic cabin, which is precisely what one would want from a sports car. There are also lots of physical controls, which should please purists who aren’t fans of sifting through menus on a screen to activate things like the windshield wipers or HVAC controls. An “F-MODE” button hints at an easy way to activate the sports car’s highest performance settings, while a button marked “custom” should enable users to tailor individual settings to their liking and then save them for one-button activation.
The driver gets their own screen mounted behind the steering wheel, which is curved and used to display vital information such as speed and what gear the car is currently in, implying that there’s a transmission, and the current mode, which says, “TRACK.” It’s flanked by a pair of auxiliary displays with some other nifty information. On the left, we see temperature gauges for what appears to be a front motor, battery, and rear motor. Underneath, there’s a circular gauge for “regenerative braking map.” On the right side of the yoke, you’ll find a “boost map” gauge underneath what appears to be a lap timer showing improved times. Is Lexus hinting at besting the LFA by 14.27 seconds at a specific circuit? I guess we’ll find out.
The driver sits in their own separate section of the interior, essentially, with a clear divide between them and the passenger – a common theme in a lot of modern sports cars these days intended to make one feel like they’re in a fighter jet.
Generally speaking, there is a lot of contrast and detailing in the Lexus Sport Concept interior, as one would expect from a higher-end sports car – such as black and white upholstery for the driver and passenger side, intricate latticework, turquoise ambient lighting, and bejeweled switchgear that looks like it will fire off satisfying clicks every time one uses it.
However, there is one notable clue here that may hint at what powers this particular concept – a battery percentage indicator on the screen, which in this case shows a 70 percent charge. Coupled with the temperature gauges, it certainly implies that the Lexus Sport Concept is all-electric. (Plus, we haven’t seen anything that looks like a traditional exhaust.) And does “BOOST” refer to turbochargers or some form of battery/power boost?
Which leaves us wondering, what exactly is Toyota debuting on December 4, and what did they tease just a few weeks ago? Given all the testing and rumors we’ve seen over the last few years, we’ve been assuming that the Lexus LFR would utilize a twin-turbocharged 4.0-liter V8 churning out 720 horsepower on its own, or perhaps as much as 900 horsepower with hybrid assist.
But is the Lexus Sport Concept really the same vehicle as the Toyota GT Concept that debuted at the Goodwood Festival of Speed?
The two concepts share a similar silhouette, but clearly have different headlights. And when talking to Toyota PR reps at the RAV4 Press Drive, the executives there said there is an internal mandate to keep Lexus and Toyota separate from an engineering perspective. So is it possible that Toyota and/or Gazoo Racing will unveil a V8-hybrid supercar in December, while Lexus will launch something all-electric? Could both companies get a V8-hybrid supercar? Or is the Lexus Sport Concept simply a design study meant to show where Lexus will take future design language and technology?
We’ll have to wait just a bit longer to find out.
UPDATE: Takashi Uehara, the powertrain president at Toyota, confirmed to Australian press that both the Lexus and Toyota variants of the next-gen supercar will have twin-turbo V8 engines. Although it’s unclear if they will be identical.
Photos: Lexus
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