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Lexus ends partnership with Weinstein Co. and 'Project Runway'

Lexus has been a long-time sponsor of fashion reality competition show Project Runway, providing a car to the contest's winner and sponsoring at least one specific "challenge" per season. Only last week, a Lexus NX 200t was featured and used as inspiration for the remaining group of fashion designers. This would seem to be the last season that will happen, however, as Lexus has ended its partnership with the show's production company, Weinstein Co., after sexual harassment allegations leveled at Harvey Weinstein. "Lexus has chosen to terminate its agreement with The Weinstein Company that saw the luxury automaker working with the film studio on certain film and television projects," a company spokesperson wrote in a statement to Reuters. Last week, Lexus indicated it was "evaluating" its relationship with Weinstein Company. One would imagine this delay was the result of that week's episode featuring Lexus substantially more than usual. Related Video:

2021 Lexus LX 570 gets an Inspiration Series run of 500 units

The 2021 Lexus LX 570 will haul its 13-year-old bones into the 2021 model year with the enticements of the Sport Package, along with an Inspiration Series model produced in a run of 500 examples. New features and options for 2021 are Amazon Alexa capability, Nori Green exterior paint, and interior leather colored Glazed Caramel. The Sport Package dials up bodykit add-ons for the front and rear fascias, a sport grille, body-colored side mirrors with chrome accents, and forged 21-inch wheels outside. A black headliner inside broods over semi-aniline leather trim offset with leather in black, Cabernet, or that new Glazed Caramel hue.  The LX Inspiration Series can be had in either Black Onyx or the $425 White Pearl exterior. Outside, it goes heavy on the sinister. A black grille features a black chrome surround, there are black headlamps and taillights with smoked lenses to go with black fog lamps, black trim around the windows and black chrome garnish elsewhere, black roof rails and door handles, and black badges on the back of tailgate. The rolling stock is a set of 21-inch black wheels with black center caps. The limited-edition spent all its fun money on the exterior, the interior left with unique floor and cargo mats, and unique key gloves.  All models come with the Lexus Safety System+ that groups features like Blind Spot Monitor with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, Panoramic View Monitor, Multi-Terrain Monitor, and Intuitive Parking Assist. The engine bay retains its 5.7-liter V8 throwing 383 horsepower and 403 pound-feet of torque, shifting through an eight-speed automatic and sending power to all four wheels through a Torsen limited-slip differential. If an LX 570 ever sees an unpaved road, it will have nothing to fear, equipped standard with its Crawl Control system that comes with Turn Assist and Hill-start Assist Control. On sale as of now, prices on the two-row, five-seat LX 570 and the three-row, seven-seat model have gone up by $100. The two-row starts at $86,580 and gets a $1,025 destination charge, totaling $87,605. The three-row starts at $91,580 and gets a $1,295 destination charge, so it starts at $92,875. Lexus didn't mention pricing for the Sport Package or the Inspiration model, both of which are exclusive to the three-row, and they're not on the Lexus configurator as of writing, so speak to your dealer about those if they speak to you. Related Video:    

Lexus previews its next design language with an electric concept

Identifying a new or a late-model Lexus is child's play: Look for the giant spindle-shaped grille. It's a styling cue that defines all of its recent models, and designing an electric car is evidently not an excuse to get rid of it. Lexus published a dark teaser image that previews an electric concept that will usher in its next design language. Like parent company Toyota, Lexus has long resisted the shift towards electric cars by fervently arguing hybrids make more sense. But, as even its home country mulls a blanket ban on internal combustion technology, it's left with no choice but to go electric. It already sells a battery-powered variant of the UX in Europe, but the concept it previewed on its social channels was designed as an electric car from the get-go. It's still shrouded in secrecy, we don't even know its name yet, but we can already tell the spindle stays. Its outline clearly appears between the sharp LED headlights, though it almost looks full. And, like seemingly every concept car released in the past three or four years, the newest member of the Lexus portfolio wears a backlit emblem. Lexus electric prototype View 4 Photos Interestingly, Lexus also quietly published a separate video highlighting the electric and hybrid technologies it's developing for the 2020s, and the footage reveals a heavily-camouflaged crossover lapping a test track in Japan. Shown in the gallery above, it's fully electric, and it might be at least related to the upcoming concept. Direct4 technology will power the car. Short for Direct 4-Wheel Drive Force Control, it's a system that automatically adjusts the torque sent to each wheel based on the road and driving conditions. In this application, it consists of two electric motors (one per axle), and its total output checks in at 402 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. Lexus noted it can be used for gasoline-electric plug-in hybrid systems, too. We'll need to be patient to find out more about the concept. For example, we don't know if it's related to the electric car that Toyota will release in Europe in 2021, or if it's something else entirely. If the concept and the prototype shown testing in Japan are indeed the same car, it looks like its launch is right around the corner. Related video: