Excepting the LFA, Lexus’ automotive designs have never been that, well, outstanding. While its luxury competitors begin to dabble in daring design, Lexus has remained fairly tame by comparison. Hopefully that is all about to change.
Lexus will officially unveil its latest compact crossover concept next week at the Frankfurt Auto Show. Called the LF-NX, the high-concept design marries big, proud muscular haunches with sleek, aerodynamic lines.
Under the bodywork, Lexus says the LF-NX has a very fuel-efficient hybrid drivetrain that’s tuned for CUV performance. What that drivetrain consists of, however, Lexus has not yet divulged.
On the interior we see another wildly – and honestly inadvisable – interior color scheme. Last time we saw something so gaudy from Lexus interior design was the IS-F with its orange and black motif. Lexus claims the sunrise inspired the interior. That’s all well and good but it’s far too cartoonish for our taste.
Flanked on all sides by orange is a very intriguing looking touch-sensitive infotainment unit. Again, Lexus gives no details on how it works, aside from saying it is operated by remote touchpad Remote Touch Interface (RTI). We hope it’s a bit less sensitive than recent Lexus joystick-based systems, which were nearly nightmarish to operate.
Aside from the silly interior and the Predator front end, we love the shout-y and evocative bodylines of the LF-NX. Will Lexus send something like this into production? Probably. But we can nearly guarantee that, unlike the wildly handsome Mercedes-Benz GLA that it will undoubtedly compete with, the LF-NX won’t be nearly as daring.
If Lexus gives us any more details next week at the unveiling, we’ll be sure to bring it to you. So be sure to check back once Frankfurt is in full swing.
