This, ladies and gents, is what the new Lexus RZ electric SUV will look like when it’s revealed in full in the next couple of months. It’s… not bad, is it?
Not by SUV standards anyway. The notches down the side of the no-longer-a-grille give it a bit of edge, and there are plenty of interesting creases throughout the design to help stand out from the bulging crowd. Let’s hope it isn’t blandified before it goes on sale.
When it’s launched the RZ will be the first EV with a Lexus badge that’s been purpose built with electricity in mind. The UX300e, you’ll remember, was constructed around architecture originally designed for internal combustion.
This time the RX will sit on top of Toyota’s e-TNGA platform, which means it’s a sibling vehicle to the forthcoming bZ4X and Subaru Solterra.
Toyota’s effort is getting a 71kWh battery and 451km of range: front-wheel drive models produce 201hp for 0-100kph in 8.4sec, while dual-motor, all-wheel drive variants manage 214hp and shave 0.7secs off the headline sprint.
Meanwhile 150kW charging is in the pipeline, which means an 80% top-up in as little as 30 minutes.
It’s likely the Lexus’s numbers will be almost identical in every regard, such is the modern world of shared underpinnings. Welcome to the future: Enjoy your skateboard with a bodykit.
This article first came out in TopGear.com. Minor edits have been made.
