Automotive

Lexus turns its maligned spindle grille into an entire concept car

Lexus turns its maligned spindle grille into an entire concept car
The full glass roof is also an augmented reality display
The full glass roof is also an augmented reality display
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In addition to the spindle, Lexus designers were inspired by the idea of electric drive power bursting forward
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In addition to the spindle, Lexus designers were inspired by the idea of electricity flowing forward
The full glass roof is also an augmented reality display
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The full glass roof is also an augmented reality display
If there's one positive about the spindle-inspired styling, it's that it explains some of the weird choices, like the high-set rear crease and sharp-angled taillights
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If there's one positive about the spindle-inspired styling, it's that it explains some of the weird choices, like the high-set rear crease and sharp-angled taillights
Lexus does away with the B-pillars and installs huge wing doors
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Lexus does away with the B-pillars and installs huge wing doors
From this angle, the LF-30 Electrified reminds us of a wave surging forward
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From this angle, the LF-30 Electrified reminds us of a wave surging forward
Front and rear passengers will have no trouble getting inside
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Front and rear passengers will have no trouble getting inside
Lexus revealed the LF-30 Electrified at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, announcing that it will be revealing its first battery electric vehicle next month
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Lexus revealed the LF-30 Electrified at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show, announcing that it will be revealing its first market-ready BEV next month
Lexus gives the LF-30 a 3.8-second 0-62 mph and 124-mph top speed
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Lexus gives the LF-30 a 3.8-second 0-62 mph and 124-mph top speed
The LF-30 is powered by four motors totaling 536 hp
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The LF-30 is powered by four motors totaling 536 hp
The glass roof doubles as a display
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The glass roof doubles as a display
Lexus cocoons the driver and front passenger in respective cockpits
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Lexus cocoons the driver and front passenger in respective cockpits
Lexus uses materials like charred cedar and recycled-metal fiber for the interior design
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Lexus uses materials like charred cedar and recycled-metal fiber for the interior design
The LF-30 offers both manual and autonomous driving modes, and the steering wheel retracts during self driving
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The LF-30 offers both manual and autonomous driving modes, and the steering wheel retracts during self driving
The LF-30 charges completely wirelessly
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The LF-30 charges completely wirelessly
That bulging e-spindle grille looks like a panting dog tongue from this angle
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That bulging e-spindle grille looks like a panting dog tongue from this angle
Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept
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Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept
The curved front passenger display offers entertainment and information, with help from personalized audio integrated in the headrest
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The curved front passenger display offers entertainment and information, with help from personalized audio integrated in the headrest
The rear seats also include headrest audio
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The rear seats also include headrest audio
Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept
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Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept
Not bad: the LF-30 drives itself to greet the driver and passenger while a drone carries their luggage to the trunk
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Not bad: the LF-30 drives itself to greet the driver and passenger while a drone carries their luggage to the trunk
Passengers can turn the glass opaque to take a nap or just block unwanted sun
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Passengers can turn the glass opaque to take a nap or just block unwanted sun
The LF-30 is loaded with burgeoning technologies like automotive AI, augmented reality and gesture control
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The LF-30 is loaded with burgeoning technologies like automotive AI, augmented reality and gesture control
Lexus LF-30 concept
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Lexus LF-30 concept
Overhead of the LF-30 cabin layout
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Overhead of the LF-30 cabin layout
View gallery - 24 images

BMW's bloated kidneys are fast catching up, but Lexus' spindle grille might just be the most controversial (despised) automotive styling cue of our time. And now it's a concept car. The LF-30, an otherwise fun, condor-winged, drone-docking autonomous electric car from the future, debuts at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show as something of the ultimate troll of Lexus haters: a four-wheeled, bumper-to-bumper spindle grille ... with a bulging spindle grille all its own. As of now, it looks as though Lexus has no intention of using the forthcoming electric age as motivation to erase all memories of Predator mouth.

We didn't spot the spindliness of the 200-in (509-cm) LF-30 Electrified Concept car body on first look, but Lexus was more than happy to point it out in its announcement: "Taking advantage of a hoodless vehicle shape made possible by being a BEV, Lexus' signature 'spindle' form has been further evolved to span the entire vehicle architecture. The window glass, which continually stretches from the front to rear, the muscular fenders, and the wing-shaped headlights form the contours of the Lexus iconic spindle. The shape of the body is fashioned with an elegantly flowing front which transitions into a linear and sharp rear."

So, an entire car takes on the much-hated spindle form. And if that isn't enough, the LF-30 also wears its own spindle grille. Designers took the decentralization of the four-motor electric powertrain not as an opportunity to drop the grille all together but as a cue to create a protruding three-dimensional spindle mass that's every bit as overstyled as the current-generation grate.

Not bad: the LF-30 drives itself to greet the driver and passenger while a drone carries their luggage to the trunk
Not bad: the LF-30 drives itself to greet the driver and passenger while a drone carries their luggage to the trunk

We could overlook all that spindle if this was just any concept car, but this concept comes on the eve of Lexus' official break into electric vehicles. In the same breath in which it introduced the LF-30, it announced that it will debut its first battery EV next month on the way to offering electrified versions of all its models by 2025. So if we're to read between the lines, it has no intention of ditching the spindle grille in the dawn of an electric age that gives it every reason to ditch the spindle grille. Instead, it'll just have an 'e-spindle' ... that'll probably survive beyond 2030, the year the LF-30 design represents.

The world weeps.

Forgiving Lexus for spindling completely out of control might be an order too tall for Jesus himself, but if you can overlook it momentarily, the LF-30 becomes an interesting little styling exercise, taking a quick spin to the Year 2030 to reveal how Lexus might reshape form and function around electric, autonomous and connected technologies. A carefully sawed and chiseled iceberg, the dramatic LF-30 lets driver and passengers practically backflip through the huge, B-pillar-free entryways hiding in the shadows of bird-of-prey doors.

From this angle, the LF-30 Electrified reminds us of a wave surging forward
From this angle, the LF-30 Electrified reminds us of a wave surging forward

Inside, the LF-30 wraps each front occupant in a personal cocoon. Though the car is capable of fully autonomous driving, it still offers the opportunity for human driving with a steering wheel, instruments and a set of pedals on the left side. The cockpit helps the driver achieve laser focus, closely coordinating all necessary functions through the steering wheel and head-up display.

Lexus cocoons the driver and front passenger in respective cockpits
Lexus cocoons the driver and front passenger in respective cockpits

Split from the driver seat by a solid, metal-trimmed center console, the front passenger compartment is inspired by first-class airliner seating and faces its own wraparound touchscreen, with all physical controls positioned within natural reach. The rear passenger seats don't get quite that level of sculpted focus, but artificial muscle technology ensures they support every joint and muscle while the passengers enjoy personalized audio via the next-generation Mark Levinson sound system with headrest speakers and localized noise cancelation. The rear passengers don't have individual displays but can enjoy augmented reality and entertainment on the "SkyGate" roof.

Gesture control and augmented reality play heavily in the design, and the onboard AI recognizes individual voices to better micro-adjust the interior environment around each occupant's preferences. The large glasshouse can be easily switched between crystal-clear and opaque.

The LF-30 is loaded with burgeoning technologies like automotive AI, augmented reality and gesture control
The LF-30 is loaded with burgeoning technologies like automotive AI, augmented reality and gesture control

LF-30 drive power comes from a quartet of in-wheel motors that team for 536 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. The 110-kWh battery pack gives the car an estimated range of 31`1 miles (500 km) on the WLTP and a top speed of 124 mph (200 km/h). Lexus imagines the car running the 0-62 mph (100 km/h) in 3.8 seconds. A steer-by-wire system and Lexus Advanced Posture Control with precise torque vectoring improve handling and maneuverability on all road surfaces and conditions, delivering next-generation driving dynamics in both manual and autonomous modes.

One final piece of weirdness, the "Lexus Airporter" support drone is a flying assistant that can perform related tasks like carrying luggage from the house to the car trunk as the LF-30 self-drives itself to the doorway to greet driver and passengers. The drone docks in the vehicle, where it presumably auto-charges off the battery.

You can live the LF-30 Electrified experience in the 1.5-minute video clip below before dropping back to reality and preparing for next month's debut of a much more modest Lexus EV ... with spindle grille.

Introducing the Lexus LF-30 Electrified Concept

Source: Toyota

View gallery - 24 images
4 comments
4 comments
rick08
The first time I saw this grill, I thought it was a hoax. It did, Afterall, look like a clone of Darth Vaders Helmet. This new looks nothing like a spindle. It looks more like a warped wind tunnel.
Vernon Miles Kerr
From the beginning, the "spindle" grill reminded me of the old cow-catchers on the front of steam locomotives. I actually passed on the 2017 Highlander and went for the 2017 Mercedes GLC 300 partly because of Toyota's wide use of that ugly grill concept.
JeffK
i'm old enough to remember the original "Battlestar Galactica" and the first thing those grills reminded me of was a frontal view of the "faces" on the Cylon Centurions from that show. Didn't watch enough of the more recent version to see if they were similar.
warren52nz
I've never liked the front end of modern Lexuses. Fortunately my 2007 GS450h doesn't have that look.
12 years on and nothing has ever gone wrong with it. The side mirrors were replaced for free as a recall item though.