Is an Electric LFA on the Horizon?
Lexus’ Formula E efforts could spawn future Electric LFA.
Porsche recently announced that it will end its LMP1 efforts in the FIA World Endurance Championship in order to compete in the upcoming sixth season of Formula E and to further bolster the company’s important Mission E projects. That leaves Toyota as the sole manufacturer representing WEC LMP1, which means Toyota may be a shoe-in to secure its first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans following the last few years of heartbreak.
With this in mind, the Toyota brand has no interest in following Porsche to Formula E, but the company does have interest in sending Lexus to compete against the boys from Stuttgart. As it so happens, Mercedes-Benz is also starting the same season as Porsche, and BMW formed its team a season before both.
Despite Toyota’s stubbornness in recent years to adopt full-electric and plug-in type vehicles, claiming hybrids are a better solution, Toyota sees this as a perfect opportunity to promote Lexus at the forefront of ToMoCo’s electric technology and innovations.
CNBC reported last December that Toyota pledged that its entire fleet will be available in an electric or hybrid version by 2025. The Japanese firm is also targeting 5.5 million annual sales of EVs by 2030. Toyota wants 10 different pure battery electric cars for sale for 2020, with more moving forward. With BMW moving quickly with its “i” brand, and Porsche with Mission E, Formula E may be the golden ticket Toyota and Lexus need to get serious.
Formula E boss Alejandro Agag has been clamoring for Japanese and American manufacturers to join the all-electric series. Speaking to Motorsport.com in Montreal, Agag said, “We really want to have a Japanese manufacturer, maybe more than one, and I hope that they will come very soon. For us, Japan is a key market, and so we want a Japanese and a U.S. manufacturer.”
‘We really want to have a Japanese manufacturer, maybe more than one. For us, Japan is a key market, and so we want a Japanese and a U.S. manufacturer.’
Toyota said it was also working with Panasonic on next generation solid-state batteries that help reduce weight and cost of batteries. Should Lexus field a Formula E vehicle in the coming years, expect Panasonic to be a title sponsor.
This should come as good news to fans clamoring for a new LFA. Lexus Formula E efforts are likely to spawn a full-electric or hybridized LFA, using the latest solid-state battery technology. Lexus may be secretly targeting the Mercedes-Benz Project-1 hypercar. The Project-1 one is essentially a street-legal F1 hypercar with the same powertrain as it’s Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 cousin.
This is exciting news, and whatever Lexus has up its sleeve, it’s no doubt going to be electrifying. The best part is that you totally believed all of this! April Fools!
