Imagining a Lexus City Car

Posted by Kevin on December 19th, 2011

From the Not Going to Happen automotive department comes this Theophilus Chin rendering of a Toyota Prius C-inspired Lexus CK (click for larger images):

Lexus CK Toyota Prius C Rear

As much as I like the idea of Lexus city car, this rendering is far too close to the source material to be viable — but beyond looks, the Prius C could be a good starting point for a mini-Lexus, even though I much prefer the iQ (even better, the iQ GRMN, please).

(With Mercedes, BMW, and even Lotus getting into the city car game, I’d love to see Lexus competing in the mini market — in my mind, I see a hybrid city car that sits right between the iQ and Aston Martin Cygnet.)

[Source: Theophilus Chin]

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Comments
K
  • K
    Kaivo Soo
  • December 19, 2011
oh god  lexus pls dont .
J
  • J
    Joe
  • December 19, 2011
Could be a good idea as such for volume sales in Europe, but I can hardly imagine a good citycar basis to build a real luxury car on.  And I surely hope they won't ever go in a slightly modified copy of this ugly Prius coupe with its way too Japanese design...
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    Toni S
  • December 19, 2011
This car looks boring and not like a Lexus. Please Lexus try to design Lexus on its own and don't let it look like any Toyota. In Europe one of the biggest problems of the brand is that everybody says Lexus is only a rebadged Toyota. Stop recyling Toyota platforms for new Lexus vehicles!
    M
    • M
      Mr. D
    • December 19, 2011
    People always hide one thing and that's the fact that all Audi's are rebadged VW's and it's true but people defend Audi like it's a piece of Gold. I'm sorry but Lexus and Toyota are totally independent to one another. Toyota is based in Toyota City, Tokyo and Lexus is based in Tahara, Aichi. They have their own independence to do what they want, Lexus have their own engineers, designers, headquarters, manufacturing plants etc etc etc
  • Anonymous
  • December 19, 2011
Seriously? Just... no... That's just a Toyota PriusC (JDM Aqua) A city car would be a great idea. But it needs to be better looking and adopt the L-Finesse design language.
A
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    Aramis76
  • December 19, 2011
I love the idea but I'm agree with the fact that they have to use the iQ as base. The iQ is way better than this render.
G
  • G
    Guest
  • December 19, 2011
I really hope we'll never see anything as ugly as this with a Lexus badge on...however, as mentioned, a Lexus city car wouldn't be a bad idea. Now when Lexus is being "reborn", a part of that should be no rebadging ever again...
L
  • L
    LEXICON
  • December 19, 2011
no.
    D
    • D
      Daniel
    • June 14, 2012
    i agree
D
  • D
    DillonD
  • December 19, 2011
Absolutely not.
Q
  • Q
    Q T
  • December 19, 2011
This just screams...... desperate. (if it was to happen) Why can't they just focus on making luxury cars ? Like they are supposed to,  instead of this mini-market / entry-level crap? - The worst part about this is that they're not gonna be priced any cheaper, (think hs200h) I'm all for efficiency and catering to different markets, but just remember that they also have toyota and scion for those very specific reasons. 
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  • L
    LexusLVR
  • December 19, 2011
Actually this is the future of luxury cars. Downsizing. Small premium and luxury cars are the future. Think about it. Space is becoming a premium in many cities of various world markets, especially in Europe and Asia. The average parking or garage space is smaller than what we're used to in the US (where a large pickup can easily park). Most people in Europe and Asia don't even own a garage, but park their cars on busy streets. A smaller car is easier to live with in the city than a bigger car. And people are demanding smaller premium cars as a result. Obviously the van-type of design is the most efficient in terms of offering usable interior space, so I can see many future luxury cars looking like vans or having a van-type design. Gas isn't going to get cheaper either. And wealthy people do care about fuel economy, to. Smaller cars and smaller premium cars have their place and reason to exist in my opinion.
    F
    • F
      F1
    • December 19, 2011
    Yeah it's alright, Europe is a declining piece which no one right now really cares about, Lexus will never become the number one brand there, not that it matters as their luxury cars are not luxury by normal standards and there isn't much profits to be made by selling cars of that calibre.. Asia, china the people who could afford luxury cars are rich people who purchase proper luxury sedans, hency why the ES is the top selling Lexus in China. USA, Canada, Australia have similar lifestyles and are growing markets where Lexus has good opportunities.. And Asia
    L
    • L
      LexusLVR
    • December 20, 2011
    What do you mean with  "their luxury cars are not luxury by normal standards"? So a Rolls Royce isn't normal? Or a Mercedes S class?
C
  • C
    Crux
  • December 19, 2011
I am very glad you said "Imagining". There is absolutely no way this hideous thing will go into production. 
A
  • A
    Altair1020
  • December 19, 2011
i dont see this happening.  lexus is branching away from toyota in both design and priorities.  this has rebadged toyota all over it
F
  • F
    F1
  • December 19, 2011
F***K no!
Y
  • Y
    ydooby
  • December 19, 2011
Hate the rendering of the Aqua clone, but like the idea of a Lexus city car for markets outside the US. The Audi A1 is a prime example of a premium city car properly done--it's got a stylish exterior, an upscale interior and a sporty character. If there's a demand for it (again, outside the US), why not?
J
  • J
    Johnlikest
  • December 20, 2011
Oh my god this is the worst looking thing I have ever seen.
  • Anonymous
  • December 20, 2011
Looks like a Yaris. Yuck!
2
  • 2
    2LTurbo
  • December 20, 2011
Simply Wrong
C
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    Clubae86
  • December 22, 2011
LMAO...... I thought the CT200h is derived from Prius????  Same platform, same 1.8L powertrain..... LOL
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    Thomas
  • December 27, 2011
What are you guys crying about?! This isnt from Lexus! This is from a random guy who thinks his skillz with photoshop is out of this world. He's not a designer, not a designer for Lexus, has no taste and will never be a designer, ever.
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  • C
    capceret
  • February 2, 2012
chuck norris would go nuts when he see this pic

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