2003 Lexus Sc430 Convertible Hard Top Htd Leather Nav Texas Direct Auto on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Lexus LFA successor with PHEV drivetrain in the works?

Reports out of Japan say that a successor to the Lexus LFA is in the works. While this news should come with a planet-sized grain of salt, there is a non-zero chance. And since the LFA is one of the best sports cars we've driven, it bears at least considering, so let's look at the mere possibility of a successor. Best Car magazine claims to have in their upcoming Dec. 10 issue a scoop about the new "super sports" car. They say that the successor is a plug-in hybrid with a front-midship layout (the heavy motor behind the front axle) under a carbon fiber body. The gas side of the equation is said to be a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 generating approximately 937 horsepower. It's supposedly scheduled for a 2025 debut. This seems to be a different car than the rumored Gazoo Racing Super Sport, which is based on the Toyota's entrant in the WEC's new Le Mans Hypercar class. That car would have to resemble the race car somewhat, and as such would have a twin-turbo hybrid V6. We find it highly unlikely that Toyota would build two super-expensive cars at the same time. Also, note the rumored engine is a 4.0-liter V8, a displacement that doesn't exist in any modern Lexus. Perhaps that could mean a replacement for the current 5.0-liter V8? Or maybe just a sign that this is all much ado about nothing.  However, we have seen an LFA prototype with modified bodywork lapping the Nurburgring in late 2018, some six years after the original ended production. The same car was spotted in summer of 2019 as well, the same year Lexus' then vice-president, now president Koji Sato told Autocar, "We need strong requests for a new LFA from the media. This can help us proceed.” Well, if that's what it takes then consider this another vote in the yes column, even though we've described its 4.8-liter V10's 552-horsepower output as not very impressive on paper by the time it came out and covered how it wasn't a hot seller, with new examples still being offered for sale as new in 2018. In the years since, though, it seems the collector market seems to have taken a liking to the LFA. At Monterey Car Week this year, a regular LFA sold for $819,000, more than doubling its original $375,000 sticker, while a 1 of 50 Nurburgring Edition sold for $1.6 million. If the GR Super Sport really is canceled as some rumors suggest, perhaps there is room in the Toyota family for another LFA. We still wouldn't hold our breaths, though.

Lexus LCs for SEMA inspired by Blue Morpho butterfly, Marvel's Black Panther

Lexus is bringing a pair of LC 500 coupes to this year's SEMA show, and they're thoroughly different vehicles to one another. The first is a production car, the Lexus LC Inspiration Series. It's a highly limited-edition car that is mostly stock except for a unique paint job. The other also has a special paint scheme, but it's a one-off show car designed around the upcoming Marvel movie, " Black Panther," in which an LC 500 will be featured. The LC 500 Inspiration Series, being a production car, should be of the most interest to consumers, but also because of its special paint. Looking at it, it's very clearly blue, but according to Lexus, there are no actual blue pigments in the paint. Instead, the blue hue comes from the way nano-structures buried in the paint reflect blue light. It works similarly to the wings of the Blue Morpho butterfly, which also lack any actual blue coloration, but the structure of the wings' surfaces reflect blue light. This paint is not easy to make, either. Lexus says it takes eight months to produce a batch, and only two cars with the coating can be built each day. So it's easy to understand why this is a limited edition car and color. Only 100 will be sold in the United States. To sweeten the deal, this Inspiration Series edition comes standard with 21-inch forged wheels, exclusive carbon fiber door sill plates, and, for some reason, a Barneys sommelier bar set with a design inspired by the LC. View 11 Photos As subtle as the Lexus LC 500 Inspiration Series is, the Black Panther LC 500 isn't. The car features an extremely widened body. It's a fairly elegant design, except for the stuck-on claws on the side mirrors that are echoed by the silver panted fender vent strakes. The paint scheme is equally absurd. The dark indigo blue paint has an enormous Black Panther mask design on the hood. Under the car is blue underglow, and the interior is finished in black leather with blue Alcantara. Lexus also lists a number of fictional features for the car, since it is meant for the Black Panther superhero. Among them are a bulletproof, self-healing Vibranium body, systems controlled by a "Wakandan B-CPU (Brain/Computer interface) creating a symbiotic relationship between the vehicle and its driver," and side mirrors with "instinctual positioning technology" to automatically move to the right position for the driver.

Production Lexus RZ 450e leaked ahead of official debut

The Lexus RZ 450e isn't supposed to debut until April 20, but some screenshots from Japan may have revealed the production EV's look. Unsurprisingly, they look pretty close to the official concept images we've seen before. In some ways toned down for production, in other ways amped up. The images appear to have been leaked in a Japanese Discovery Channel promo, which users at RZforums.com screen captured. The screenshots show a burnt orange-colored RZ driving on a test course in Japan. The inescapable dress-up comes in the form of a black hood that emphasizes the Lexus spindle grille. Though it's been in use for over 10 years now, it remains a controversial piece of Lexus design. It works better on some cars than others, but in the case of the RZ the company seems to want to double down on accentuating its lines. On the other hand, the concept's body-colored nose seems to have been replaced with a black section where the grille might have resided on a internal combustion car. This lets the RZ maintain a semblance of grille without actually having one. The result is a more traditional-looking face than the Mirai-esque concept schnoz. It should be noted that the production car wears a black roof as well, which the concept does not. Overall, the Lexus RZ's styling departs further from the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X upon which it is based. While those two are nearly indistinguishable from one another, the Lexus has unique sheetmetal as evinced by its surfacing, C-pillar treatment, and more. Perhaps as the biggest relief to some, the RX eliminates the black cladding on the front fenders for body-colored wings. The Toyota bZ4X is powered either by a single electric motor with 201 horsepower or a dual-motor, all-wheel-drive configuration with 214 horses. Both choices use a 71.4-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery that gets, in the Japanese testing cycle, 310 miles of range in front-drive and 285 miles in all-wheel-drive. The Lexus might get a performance boost, but we won't know until April 20 at the latest. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.