Being Toyota’s luxury sibling, Lexus hasn’t been as invested in the shift toward electric vehicles as many other luxury automakers. However, it did introduce the RZ for the 2024 model year. However, today it’s rolled out the updated version — for Europe first — with a slew of important and necessary updates.
Lexus revealed its “new” RZ electric vehicle. More powerful, faster charging and with more range, it won’t hit the U.S. until later this year.
The 2026 RZ — introduced in Brussels, Belgium — doesn’t look much different on the outside, but the officials says it uses a fully redesigned BEV system that increases power, extends range and reduces charging time — the triple crown of electric vehicle development.
The company claims the new system provides a 20% increase in overall range to about 310 miles, although that’s using Europe’s overly optimistic WLTP standard. In real world use, the range is likely closer to about 280 miles.
Not only that, it added a new, high-performance variant to the mix: the RZ 550e F Sport. The downside is that this new version with all of its updates won’t arrive in the U.S. until the second half of this year, officials noted.
Big changes
Lexus added a new, high-performance variant to the mix: the RZ 550e F Sport.
The apparent goal of these updates was to make driving the RZ a better experience. The new RZ uses the company’s next-generation steer-by-wire system, which they claim provides “a completely new driving experience.”
Lexus also tweaked the platform the RZ rides on as well as the all-wheel drive system — dubbed DIRECT4 — to improve ride and handling performance. Also, for those wanting to simulate the sports car experience, the company is now offering its new Interactive Manual Drive, a software-based system designed to make it feel like you’re actually changing gears using paddle shifters.
Officials note the advancements refine the “The Natural” driving concept, further expanding the Lexus Driving Signature to provide a smoother, more intuitive, and exhilarating driving experience.
“Moving forward, Lexus will continue to push the boundaries of its signature driving experience by seamlessly integrating cutting-edge hardware and software,” said Shinya Ito, chief engineer, Lexus International.
More Lexus News
- Lexus Unveils the New LX 700h Hybrid SUV
- First Drive: 2024 Lexus GX 550
- From Plain Vanilla to Cutting Edge – is Lexus Design Going too Far?
More performance
The new Lexus RZ 550e F Sport features a yoke-style steering wheel that makes it easy to uses it new Interactive Manual Drive.
As part of that experience, the new RZ 55e F Sport gets higher-output front and rear motors to provide more power. Of course, it also gets the F Sport interior, which features a specialized, yoke-style steering wheel.
The yoke steering wheel’s gotten mixed reviews after being introduced by Tesla and a few other brands. The version produced by Lexus almost mimics what one would find in an IndyCar or F1 race car.
The F Sport also gets a specialized two-tone color scheme for the exterior: Neutrino Gray X Black. The black runs from the front fascia, up the hood, over the roof and down the back hatch. With its increased power output to more than 400 horsepower, its range is closer to about 260 miles.
Those ponies allow you to sprint from zero-to-62 mph in 4.4 seconds. Pricing information for Europe wasn’t revealed.
0 Comments