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Lexus exploring PHEV, full EV and fuel cell versions of LS flagship

After four years of rumors about a Lexus LS powered by a hydrogen fuel cell, the chief engineer of the flagship sedan says the carmaker's working on even more options. Toshio Asahi told Australia's GoAuto that three alternative powertrains — plug-in hybrid, full electric, and hydrogen — are "all on the table" for consideration. Asahi wouldn't give any timeframes, but whenever they arrive, additional drive options would fill out the LS range to better contend with the Germans. Years of reports predicted this fifth-generation LS would get hydrogen power. A Motoring article at the end of 2014 forecast a fuel cell LS to arrive by 2017. In 2015 Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported that Lexus was considering a fuel cell option to arrive in 2020, around the time of the Tokyo Olympics. Later that year, at the Tokyo Motor Show, Lexus showed off the LF-FC concept, powered by a cell and stack arranged for "optimum front-rear weight distribution for a sporty saloon." GoAuto said that during that show, a Lexus executive said an FCEV powertrain would end up in production "sooner than you think." The following year, Autocar reported we'd see a production version of the LF-FC "on sale before 2020" as a replacement for the LS, and last year, Lexus trademarked the name "LF-FC Concept." The intel gets murkier regarding plug-in hybrid and full electric versions. We now know Lexus is working on a more powerful hybrid system. The current hybrid produces a total system 354 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque using the same 3.5-liter V6 in the standard car as a base, though the standard car adds two turbos for 415 hp and 442 lb-ft. The coming hybrid will likely use the twin-turbo setup and could achieve two important ends: Smoothing out noted issues of powertrain refinement, and at least matching the power specs of Mercedes-Benz and BMW flagship plug-in hybrids. That hybrid LS would still miss out on the all-electric driving of its rivals. If there really is an LF-FC coming in the next two years, it would seem a perfect time to retire the conventional hybrid and introduce a plug-in version embodying the velvet sophistication Lexus is known for. The battery electric LS is a big question mark outside of Lexus HQ. Last year Toyota announced a breakthrough in solid state battery technology, the carmaker announcing it wanted such batteries on the market by 2022.

Tesla says Model 3 is best-selling midsize premium sedan in America

Auto sales figures are sort of fuzzy numbers, no matter how you slice them and no matter which manufacturer you're talking about. Unless you're specifically tracking vehicle registrations, automakers generally self-report the figures. So, you have to trust that they aren't doing anything too tricky. Plus, not every sale is equal, as some are logged as dealership loaners or demo models, some go to fleets (like to a rental car agency), and still others are, of course, bought by traditional customers looking for a new daily driver. With that preamble out of the way, when we saw a tweet from Tesla claiming that the all-electric Model 3 is the best-selling midsize premium sedan in America, our interest was piqued. According to Tesla, market share of the Model 3 has just surpassed the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which had up until now led the Audi A4, BMW 3 Series, and Lexus IS as the best-selling sedan in its class. Note that the graph from Tesla below is, we think, specific to four-door models. So, is it true? Judging by the numbers we can find, including some from Bloomberg, which has a running chart to track Model 3 registrations, the answer is... probably. We don't know exactly how many Model 3 sedans Tesla is currently cranking out, but Bloomberg estimates production at about 2,560 units per week, and total sales for 2018 at 34,414. We know the number is increasing regularly, though, and Elon Musk has said most recently production sits around 500 units per day, which, on a seven-day cycle, would be 3,500 per week. We looked up Mercedes' sales figures for the month of May, 2018, and found that the German brand sold 5,419 C-Class models last month, for a total of 23,917 for the year (incidentally, that's down more than 30 percent from the year prior). While the bulk of those sales would surely be made up of sedans, it would also include a small percentage of coupes. Either way, it's likely that Tesla is currently producing and selling more Model 3s than Mercedes is C-Classes. Now, it's also worth considering if the C-Class is the only vehicle from Mercedes that directly competes with the Model 3. We'd guess customers may also cross-shop the CLA sedan with the Tesla, and if that's the case, you might decide it's worth adding in Mercedes' 2,527 CLA-Class sales last month and 9,622 so far for the year. The same argument could be made for certain versions of the BMW 2 and 4 Series.

Lexus and Scott Pruett go racing with RC F GT3

Lexus will show what its RC F GT3 can do next year in the US when the racer will be hit the track with a newly formed team called F Performance Racing. Unfortunately, no one will say what series the coupe will compete in, but veteran racer Scott Pruett will be behind the wheel. As Lexus already teased, the RC F GT3 will feature a body with big flares and a huge wing. Under the heat extractors in the hood, there will be a production-derived 5.0-liter V8 with over 500 horsepower that will route through a six-speed sequential gearbox. Based on its current livery in eye-popping metallic blue, the coupe will also be one of the easiest cars to spot on the track. The sharply styled RC F might take too many checkered flags in its first season, though, because the team will keep the coupe to a limited schedule next year. Rather than scoring wins, the focus will be on developing the platform and gaining experience. However by the 2017 or 2018 season, there will be a multi-car effort with a full racing calendar. When taking on veteran teams fielding Porsches or Ferraris in the same class, a seasoned driver like Pruett will be an asset around a racecourse. He also already has close ties to the Japanese luxury brand after competing in Lexus-power prototypes in the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Championship Series and helping to develop the LFA. "I could not be more ecstatic to be representing Lexus as a performance brand ambassador and on the track in the F Performance RC F GT3," he said in the announcement. We look forward to seeing what he can do with it next year. Related Video: Lexus Partners with F Performance Racing for 2016 and Beyond Scott Pruett and Paul Gentilozzi form new team Multi-year team agreement Upcoming season focuses on vehicle development LAS VEGAS (Nov. 2, 2015) - Lexus today announced its motorsports partnership with Paul Gentilozzi and newly formed F Performance Racing to field the RC F GT3 in a soon to be announced sports car series. This new racing venture is part of the Lexus' global motorsports effort that will see the Japanese luxury brand competing on tracks in the United States beginning in 2016. The new race vehicle is based upon the production Lexus RC F high performance coupe that went on sale at the end of 2014.