Spy Shots

A white Lexus LFA was spotted in the wealthy playground & supercar mecca, the principality of Monaco:

No details—perhaps the LFA is making a personal visit to Lexus Monaco’s showroom?  Taking some publicity shots?  Or being demonstrated for LS 600h L owner Prince Albert II?

[Source: GTSpirit.com and Flickr]

It appears that another smaller-displacement Lexus model will be joining the ES 240 in the Chinese market after spyshots were captured during a domestic road test:

According to Chinese website Sohu, the RX 270 will become the entry-level model in Lexus China‘s RX lineup, and will feature a 2.7L 1AR-FE inline-four gasoline engine, producing 187 horsepower and 252 Nm of torque.

The introduction of lower-displacement models in China is a necessary strategy due to the country’s imposition of high excise taxes in 2008. These taxes targeted vehicles with 3.0L or higher engine displacement, which meant prior to the ES 240’s introduction, all of Lexus China’s vehicles were subject to the 25% to 40% excise tax.

[Source: Sohu.com (translated)]  (Thanks Ouan and Foo Foo!)

The Lexus CT 200h brochure has been leaked by way of World Car Fans, let’s get straight to the images:

Some talking points:

• The CT is built on an all new platform with a double-wishbone rear and tuned McPherson strut front suspension
• The 1.8L VVT-i engine found in the Prius is confirmed as the engine component of the CT 200h’s powertrain. No mention is made of overall horsepower.
• There will be four distinct driving modes: EV, Eco, Normal & Sport. Switching to sport will change the instrument panel and center console spotlight to red. (Nice touch!)
• Overall dimensions:
  • Length: 4,320mm/170”
  • Width: 1,765mm/69.5”
  • Height: 1,430mm/56.3”
  • Wheelbase: 2,600mm/102.4”

I’m still pouring over these images, but I really like what I see so far. How the CT 200h translated the LF-Ch’s front-end was my major concern, and that was handled expertly, meshing elements of the IS with the Toyota Prius. And just look at this interior:

The Lexus CT 200h will officially debut on March 2nd at the Geneva Auto Show.

[Source: World Car Fans]

The Lexus CT 200h has arrived for its introduction at the Geneva Auto Show:

This image comes courtesy of Lexus Europe, who are updating their Flickr account every day with a new image from the Geneva Auto Show floor. As expected, the photos so far show the Lexus exhibit to be in various stages of construction, but it’s sure to get interesting the closer we get to the autoshow’s opening day next week.

The actual photo doesn’t show much, though there’s definitely some hints of the LF-Ch in the front bumper and hood-line—here it is zoomed up:

Looks like a more traditional grille under there as well.

[Source: Flickr]

Earlier today, Lexus released a teaser image of the upcoming CT 200h hatchback’s rear tail light—and now we have another photo, this time from the front and extremely blurry—I tried brightening it up a bit:

If this photo is accurate, the production model looks to have a more traditional grille and the Lexus Hybrid LED headlights, but manages to retain much of the LF-Ch styling. The front bumper in particular looks to be lifted directly from the concept.

Put together this image with the aforementioned teaser image released today and the spy photo from January, and we can definitely start forming a picture of what the full CT 200h will look like on the outside. The next mystery? What it looks like on the inside.

(Thanks chotabacha!)

It’s been rumored that the production Lexus LF-Ch would see its debut at the Frankfurt Geneva Auto Show in March, and now Autoblog has the first spyshots that may very well prove the point:

For comparison, here’s a similar photo of the LF-Ch concept:

It looks like the aggressive wheel arch has been retained, though much of the rear bumper’s muscular look has been toned down, along with the taillights, which now look similar to the RX design. The super-detailed wheels have also been replaced with a more typical Lexus design.

This push toward practicality had to be expected—the LF-Ch concept did a great job at capturing the imagination, but it was far too complex for a production model. From what I can see, Lexus did exactly what was necessary with the rear design—it’s the front-end styling that’s going to be more pivotal.

[Source: Autoblog]