What's the news?
It was teased a few days before the event and it's likely to preview yet another production model that's a few years down the line - but this is the Lexus LF-LC Concept, a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric car which has debuted at the Tokyo Motor Show.
Featuring a fuel cell at the rear, hydrogen tanks arranged in a T-shape and three electric motors - one on the rear axle, two in the front wheels themselves - the LF-LC can run with either the fuel cell recharging the battery and also driving the rear motor in more relaxed driving conditions, while under full power demands both the fuel cell and the battery drive all three motors.
And while it looks suitably outlandish, as all good motor show cars should, this could one day become the next generation Lexus LS. It's a four-door, four-seat saloon and while it features some more traditional Lexus/Toyota styling cues outside - the front grille and rear lights, for example - on the inside it has holographic projections, gesture control software and a fully digital instrument cluster. Even rear-seat passengers benefit from a touchscreen.
Anything else?
Lexus' president, Tokuo Fukuichi, said at the launch that the company was 'getting ready for a hydrogen-powered society', and the LF-FC seems to prove that - coming on the back of the Toyota Mirai. If this does turn into the next-generation LS, it looks like not only will there be a 'regular' hybrid version but also a hydrogen model, too.
Watch the Lexus LF-FC Concept in action in this short video.
<iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WANXeWEH03s" width="470" height="315"></iframe>