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Lexus: No plans for LFA replacement anytime soon

Supercars are fantastic in terms of their raw performance, sound and ability to inspire interest in an automaker. They aren't so good at actually making money, even for giant, global automakers like Toyota. And if you are holding out hope that Lexus might be fibbing about there being no plans for an LFA successor, we have some bad news. "I think you will see us do some incredible things in the future, but probably not a $375,000 supercar anytime soon," Lexus Executive Vice President Mark Templin told Automotive News. The issue comes down to the LFA's cost to develop and massive price. Lexus built just 500 of the V10 supercars from 2010 through 2012. Templin said that the plan was originally for a much more modest vehicle with a steel body. However, that intention changed to plans for an aluminum exterior and eventually evolved further to carbon fiber during the course of its engineering. Templin is clear that Lexus isn't giving up on more accessible performance with its F sub-brand models, but more supercars aren't coming, at least not anytime soon. He previously suggested that the LFA was a generational model with a 30-year wait for the next one. These days, the workshop that built the LFA has been converted for a much less powerful but perhaps more important vehicle. Toyota now uses it to build the Mirai with the company's hydrogen fuel cell powertrain. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2012 Lexus LFA: Review View 30 Photos News Source: Automotive News - sub. req.Image Credit: Copyright 2015 Drew Phillips / AOL Plants/Manufacturing Lexus Toyota Coupe Performance Supercars supercar lexus lfa

Toyota's hydrogen fuel cell Mirai isn't good enough to be a Lexus

It looks like the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle from Lexus will be faster than previously advertised, but it will get to the market slower than expected. It's all part of the paradox involved with Toyota looking to broaden its fuel-cell technology beyond the Mirai. Either way, the first Lexus fuel-cell vehicle is slated to start sales by the end of the decade, said Auto Express, citing comments from Alain Uyttenhoven, head of Lexus Europe. Uyttenhoven noted that it'd take an SUV to provide enough space to accommodate the packaging for the Lexus fuel cell powertrain. That comment may imply that the hydrogen-fueled powertrain from Lexus will offer similar performance to that of the Lexus RX450h hybrid SUV. That model delivers 300 horsepower and boasts a 0 to 60 mile-per-hour time of about seven seconds. Such a mill would be a departure from what we'd previously reported on Toyota's plans to expand its fuel-cell technology to its Lexus luxury badge. With Toyota believed to be planning to unveil as many as three fuel-cell models in time for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, the Japanese automaker said early last year that it may have a Lexus fuel-cell vehicle available as soon as 2017, while reports suggesting the model would be a Lexus LS-based sedan. Additionally, the Mirai's fuel-cell powertrain had been believed to be the platform for the proposed Lexus fuel cell from the moment that model started sales in California last year. Apparently, though, the Mirai's 152-horsepower powertrain, coupled with a full-tank range that would be about 20 percent less than the 300-mile Mirai, isn't up to snuff for Lexus duty. Related Video: News Source: Auto Express via Hybrid CarsImage Credit: Jonathon Ramsey / AOL Green Lexus Toyota Hydrogen Cars mirai

2018 Technology of the Year Award | We chat with Lexus about the LC 500h's hybrid system

Every year, Autoblog editors test dozens and dozens of the newest vehicles available, sometimes even before they're available. From those vehicles, we select the ones we think provide the most innovative technology in the industry. Then we pare the list down to the very best, test them again, and vote on our winner for Technology of the Year. This year, Lexus's multi-stage hybrid system — as tested in the LC 500h — came out ahead of the rest of the finalists. We chose the 2018 Detroit Auto Show to hand over the award to Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Jeff Bracken. He was kind enough to sit down with Autoblog Senior Editor Alex Kierstein and Green Editor John Snyder at the Lexus stand to talk about the hybrid system, what it does, and what it means for the future of Lexus and Toyota. Check out the video above, and follow along for all our coverage from the 2018 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where we are taking a look at all of the new cars and technology that we'll see in the near future. Perhaps the next winner of Autoblog's Technology of the Year award is sitting somewhere on the Detroit show floor. Related Video: Green Detroit Auto Show Lexus Toyota Fuel Efficiency Green Automakers Technology Technology of the Year Coupe Hybrid Luxury Performance Videos Original Video 2018 detroit auto show