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Flower petal-covered Lexus UX 250h wins art car competition

We confess not to know the first thing about art, so perhaps we don't quite get why anyone would want to cover every inch of a Lexus UX250h with flower petals. It's not as if it's an easy thing to do. But not only has someone done it, the resulting car has actually won an art car competition sponsored by the luxury marque. Without the flower petals, the Lexus UX is actually a pretty sharp looking compact premium crossover. It wears the Lexus design language with its many crsip creases and angled lines better than most of its fellow L-badgers. In fact, we can think of others whose sheetmetal would look better under a veil of paper blossoms. The winning entry, created by a design outfit called Clap Studio out of Valencia, Spain, beat five other Lexus UX art cars to win the contest. It took artists Jordi Iranzo and Angela Montagud a month to attach the thousands of paper cutouts to the body. "Our concept is a Zen garden that represents a state of mind: calm, pure consciousness,” they explained. The duo also point out that the car looks very different depending on the light, as the petals reflect and cast shadows in varying directions. Other entrants included more traditional art cars, with elaborate paint jobs, textures, or random objects affixed to them. At least one appeared to be covered in actual, not abstract, flora. Only the winning proposal was actually built, it seems, so in real life only one UX was defiled (or beautified, depending on your taste). Again, we don't know much about art. Related video:

TMG Lexus LS Sports 650 destined for production after 2015?

There's little question that Lexus has succeeded in challenging its German rivals in the luxury marketplace. And with the LFA, it has proven that Japan can build a world-class supercar. What's left blank is the space in between.
Toyota Motorsport GmbH came up with a compelling answer in the form of the Sports 650 prototype, a Lexus LS with a 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 producing 641 horsepower and other go-fast components to challenge the likes of the Mercedes-Benz S63 AMG and Audi S8. Toyota boss Akio Toyoda was reportedly so impressed with the project that he initially ordered TMG to build ten examples - one for him and each of his nine best friends. But since the model on which the project was based has since been replaced, questions remain over the project's fate.
Georg Kacher - European correspondent for Automobile and Car magazines - recently drove the prototype and reports that "the project will now likely be transferred to the new model out in 2015." That could come down purely to speculation, but Kacher tends to get the inside line on industry news, so this particular bowl of gossip soup might not requite the usual grain of salt we otherwise might add.

This 'tattooed' Lexus UX is the first of its kind, and we love it

Lexus commissioned the first “tattooed” car ever, and itÂ’s chosen the UX as the tattoo artistÂ’s canvas. Art cars and special projects catch our eye sometimes, but this particular project is one of the most intriguing works of art on a car weÂ’ve seen in a long time. The process that tattoo artist Claudia de Sabe went through to translate her vision onto the UX is what weÂ’re really interested in here. Since the UX is obviously a metal car, de Sabe needed to use a Dremel tool to drill away the blank white surface paint, exposing the bare metal underneath. Those painstakingly drilled lines were used as the pattern for the art taking shape. She had to be unerringly precise in her work. After all, thereÂ’s no magic eraser for drilling into a carÂ’s metal body panels. Spending that much time free-drawing with a Dremel is intensive and demanding work, too. Comfortable positions are hard to come by, and a slip could be disastrous. After the pattern was drilled in, de Sabe switched to car paint and brushes. The koi fish and waves were painted on by hand, and then finally, de Sabe used gold leaf to create highlights in the paint and give it a stronger 3D effect. To protect the artwork, a layer of lacquer was applied, making it possible to drive this UX on the road. From the planning stages to the finished product, Lexus says it took six months. The in-studio work from de Sabe (and her tattoo artist husband who assisted her work) took place over five eight-hour days. “My main inspiration for the design of the car was just all the beautiful artwork that IÂ’ve seen in Japan, in the temples, ukiyo-e prints, all of that artistic background,” de Sabe says. Tattooing a car isnÂ’t cheap either, as Lexus estimates this bespoke work would cost “upwards of GBP120,000” (about $140,000). Lexus made a video featuring de Sabe explaining her work and showing the “tattooing” in progress. ItÂ’s worth a quick watch, so check it out below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.