The Crittenden Automotive Library

World Premiere Of The Lexus LF-NX Crossover Concept

Topics: Lexus LF-NX

World Premiere Of The Lexus LF-NX Crossover Concept

Geoff Maxted
DriveWrite
September 4, 2013

That’s it in the picture. Lexus describe it as having a distinctive, sculpted appearance. It is their vision of what a mid-sized crossover should look like and it would be powered by the Lexus Hybrid Drive full hybrid powertrain tuned for SUV performance. Any pedestrians straying too close would end up being sliced like victims of Ben-Hur’s chariot. Or it is a transformer in disguise?

The interior is apparently ‘Human Orientated’. Thank goodness for that. Why must motor manufacturers talk about things in this way? They all use this sort of new-speak when promoting their vehicles. It’s daft - if it isn’t for humans then who is it for? Just the facts, man. You will be able to see it in all its glory at the Frankfurt show in a few days time.

The LF-NX apparently reinforces Lexus's advances in hybrid power for the premium market. The powerfully sculpted styling (their words) reflects a further evolution of the L-finesse design language that influences the look of all today's Lexus models.

In profile, the LF-NX concept presents muscular wheel arches, edged with a black protective finish that expresses its urban crossover character. Above the pronounced diamond shape of the belt line, the side glazing is arranged in the classic Lexus profile, which works with the steep rake of the tailgate to create an athletic coupe-like silhouette.

The concept is being presented in a new Brushed Metal Silver exterior finish that creates a striking impression of the car having been carved from a single piece of solid metal like George Osborne’s head.

The interior mirrors the highly sculpted approach to the exterior with powerful forms and a highly ergonomic driver's cockpit, presenting a dashboard divided between an upper display zone and lower operation zone - a format perfected in successive generations of Lexus models. This enables intuitive interaction with the concept vehicle's next generation technology, including touch-sensitive electrostatic switches and a new touchpad Remote Touch Interface design.

The concept's status as a premium crossover is reinforced by carved metal surfacing around the interior, sophisticated blue instrument lighting and yellow and black leather upholstery with contrast stitching.

We’ll wait and see. In the meantime they might want to take a bit of emery paper to those edges before someone has their eye out.