Lexus has revealed the LC500h, a hybrid version of the LC performance coupe, ahead of next month’s Geneva motor show. Company bosses say the new model signals “the next phase in the evolution of Lexus”.
Set to go on sale in 2017, it combines the chassis and multi-link front suspension of the LC 500, which had its world premiere reveal earlier this year at the Detroit motor show, with a brand new multi-stage hybrid system; the latter incorporates a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery, together with a four-speed automatic gearbox, mounted at the rear of the hybrid transmission.
Total system output is claimed to be 354 bhp, enabling the car to reach 62 mph in less than five seconds.
The LC 500 is also the first to use an all-new, rear-wheel drive platform, part of the company’s new corporate global architecture for luxury vehicles dubbed “GA-L”. Lexus says the coupe’s underpinnings will provide the blueprint for future front-engine/rear-wheel drive models.
The coupe’s exterior, meanwhile, has a long, 2,870 mm wheelbase, relatively compact overhangs measuring 920 mm at the front and 970 mm at the rear, and a notably low bonnet line.
The prominent front and rear wings flare away from the centre of the car, housing 20-inch wheels, while the door panels are pulled inwards, creating a three-dimensional form that the designers say mirrors the spindle shape of the Lexus grille.
Aerodynamic details include vents in the front and rear wheel arches and a rear diffuser and active rear spoiler.
Source: Lexus
