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(Electric car24): A year ago, Lexus launched the electric car UX 300e, the first fully electric Lexus ever. We may see it as a beginning, but it is only now that the seriousness begins.
For during a major launch event in Brussels recently, Lexus showed off its first real contribution on the electric car front.
It was previously referred to as the concept car LF-Z, but is now confirmed as the upcoming RZ.
That Lexus calls its concept cars LF, with a subsequent letter, is otherwise nothing new. It has its origins in the fact that LF stands for Lexus Future, and is aimed at upcoming cars.
The only car that never lost the LF title was the sports car LFA, but it will in return almost seem futuristic forever.
DYNAMIC: The Lexus RZ should be a more dynamically oriented car than the Toyota bZ4X
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Close relative
It’s no secret that the Lexus RZ will be a close relative of the Toyota bZ4X, a car that has just been opened for reservations, but which will not be on the market until the summer.
Elbil24 got to talk to the head of Lexus in Europe, Spiros Fotinos, who almost chatted when he was asked if the Lexus RZ will get the same battery as the Toyota bZ4X.
Both cars are built on the new e-TNGA platform, and there is probably the same battery in both.
We have met the Toyota bZ4X – the new electric car
Both cars will probably also have the new MM21 system, or Multimedia 21, if you will. Below you will find everything that has to do with the operating system and screen control, so if you first get acquainted with the system in the Toyota bZ4X, then you will probably also recognize yourself in the Lexus RZ.
COUPÉ: The rear hints at a kind of coupe shape, mounted on a crossover.
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Sketches only
Lexus has chosen to keep us on the torture bench for a while longer, and has so far shown neither the car nor pictures of it. By dragging a few levers in Photoshop, we have extracted a little more information from the sketches that have been shown so far, the same with the short teaser video.
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The design language is very similar to what we see on the bZ4X, although the cars are somewhat different.
Toyota: – We must halve the battery cost
It is not to be underestimated that Japan has its own design language, without there being anything new about it. The latest version of the Toyota RAV4 also has some similarities with both the bZ4X and LexusRZ, especially around the wheel arches and a bit more.
Lexus says that they do not aim to make the RZ a kind of SUV, as Toyota has done with its version.
“We aim more at sporty driving characteristics than passability as an SUV,” Spiros said when he aired some thoughts about the car.
FRONT PART: Details reveal parts of the design language, and are typically Lexus.
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Good accessibility
But do not despair. The Lexus RZ also comes with almost the same four-wheel drive system as Toyota – a system the Toyota people are very engaged in talking about. In other words, it will not depend on accessibility here either.
If Lexus really stretches the elastic far towards the dynamic features, it will probably be the newcomer BMW i4 M50, Tesla Model 3 Performance and Ford Mustang Mach-E GT that will be the challengers, even if of these only i4 appears as premium.
For now, we still have to go to the relative Toyota bZ4X to get a hint about what the car will contain.
Toyota: – Only electric cars from us, on one condition
Therefore, expect a range of around 50 miles, a charging speed of 130 kWh, and perhaps a little more exclusive equipment than what we find in Toyota.
Lexus RZ will be launched on the Japanese market during the first half of 2022, so it remains to be seen if they will reach Norway and the rest of Europe before New Year’s Eve 2023.
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