Lexus showcased its electrified present and future at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, giving tens of thousands of visitors to the annual automotive celebration in the UK the chance to take a close-up look at its current battery electric models together with the radically designed Lexus Electrified Sport Concept.

The concept model was making its first appearance outside Japan since being unveiled by Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda in December 2021.  

It drew crowds of admirers across the four-day event and praise from the media. The UK’s Auto Express magazine described it as a “fully electric successor to the Japanese brand’s LFA sports car” with styling that “really has the ‘wow’ factor.” Autocar likewise considered it to be “a spiritual successor o the LFA” and said that Lexus will use the experience of developing the concept for other future EV models “as part of a drive to emphasise the brand’s dynamic focus.”

Lexus has marked the occasion of the car’s European debut at Goodwood with a special “unboxing” film, showing how the sleek sports car emerged from its bespoke transit container.

New images have also been produced, using studio techniques to show how the car might look on the festival’s famous hillclimb course, in front of historic Goodwood House.

The Lexus Electrified Sport Concept is a vision for a future all-electric, high-performance model. Its styling, initially developed at Lexus’ Calty design studio in California, presents bold proportions and a low ride height while the performance potential of its electric powertrain and solid state battery technology suggest 0-100 km/h acceleration in the low two-second area and a cruising range of more than 700 km. Its powerful combination of design and performance references the look and spirit of the Lexus LFA V10 supercar, which itself was a major attraction at the Festival of Speed when it made its first appearance at the event 10 years ago.

Lexus’ festival presence also included the RZ 450e, an all-new battery electric luxury SUV that will be launched across Europe later this year, the all-electric UX 300e compact crossover and the plug-in hybrid electric NX 450h+.

The Lexus Electrified Sport Concept is making its European debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed taking place from 23 to 26 June in the grounds of Goodwood House in Sussex, England.

This unique model represents Lexus’s vision for an all-electric, high-performance sports car, a foretaste of what the future might hold as the company evolves to become a luxury brand dedicated to battery electric vehicles.

The Lexus Electrified Sport Concept is proving a highlight for visitors to Electric Avenue, a display zone dedicated to zero emission electric vehicles. Admirers have been quick to discern elements of the car’s dramatic styling that echo the celebrated and ultra-rare Lexus LFA.

Where that hand-built supercar of the last decade was characterised by its powerful and acoustically thrilling naturally aspirated V10 engine, the Lexus Electrified Sport Concept looks to a new era of sports models that fully exploit the design freedoms, performance and handling potential provided by an all-electric drivetrain. Lexus anticipates a production version of the concept could be capable of 0-100 km/h acceleration in the low two-second range, while potential use of new solid state battery technology could secure a driving range of more than 700 km.

While the Lexus Electrified Sport Concept looks to the future, the festival is also showcasing Lexus EVs of the present on Electric Avenue: the newly revealed RZ 450e mid-size SUV and the UX 300e compact crossover.

The all-new RZ 450e received its world premiere in April and will go on sale in the UK and Europe later this year. A luxury SUV, it is the first Lexus electric vehicle to be developed from the ground up. It uses a new Lexus electric vehicle architecture that includes a new EV-dedicated platform that provide high body rigidity and a low centre of gravity – qualities that help ensure the comfort, control and confidence that are central to the Lexus Driving Signature. It also provides a long wheelbase that allows for a very spacious cabin. The powerful lithium-ion battery unit is fully integrated in the chassis, beneath the cabin floor, its quality finely controlled to ensure performance is maintained long-term.

The UX 300e is an all-electric version of the Lexus UX compact SUV. Launched in 2020, it has been the pioneer of the Lexus Electrified strategy, combining zero emission performance with the takumi craftsmanship, quality and refinement that are hallmarks of the brand. Its EV system uses a lithium-ion battery, housed beneath the vehicle floor so that a low centre of gravity is maintained. The electric powertrain produces 204 DIN hp/150kW and gives the car a driving range of up to 315 km (WLTP combined cycle figure).

The Goodwood Festival of Speed is to host the first public presentation outside Japan of the Lexus Electrified Sport concept, the company’s vision for a future all-electric high-performance sports car – seen by many as a potential successor to the legendary Lexus LFA.

This study for a radically styled coupe was a striking model among 16 battery electric vehicles (BEVs) revealed by Akio Toyoda, Toyota Motor Corporation President, in December 2021, as he outlined the company’s far-reaching strategy to achieve carbon neutrality.

The company will extract the full potential of its vehicles through electrification, strengthening the fundamentals of linear acceleration/deceleration, brake feeling and exhilarating handling to deliver an even more enjoyable driving experience. The Electrified Sport car will see the Lexus Driving Signature taken to the next stage.

With the essential bold proportions and low ride height of a sports car, it symbolises the future of the Lexus brand. Acceleration time (to 100 km/h) is expected to be in the low two-second range and the car will have a cruising range of more than 700 km. It is possible that a production model may use new solid-state battery technology to achieve authentic high performance.

Through BEVs, Lexus will develop into a brand that offers a variety of experiences, harnessing performance development that only a car maker like Lexus could do, and by honing the craft of making ever more personal products. Lexus will develop a next generation battery EV sports car that inherits the driving taste, or the ‘secret sauce,’ of the performance cultivated by the development of the LFA.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed will take place from 23 to 26 June in the grounds of Goodwood House in Sussex, England. The Lexus Electrified Sport concept will feature in a bespoke display in the Festival of Speed’s Electric Avenue, an area dedicated to electrified vehicles.