While Lexus vehicles are renowned for their impeccable build quality and refinement, the brand in the future also wants sporty driving characteristics to be one of its calling cards.
Citing comments made by Toshinori Ito, the project manager for Lexus' sensitivity performance development department, Automotive News (subscription required) reported on Tuesday that Lexus will start to increase the rigidity of its vehicles in an attempt to enhance their sportiness—something the brand wants to do across the lineup.
"We are aiming for the same driving taste, no matter what Lexus model you are riding in," he said.
Lexus has reportedly been studying vehicles from Germany's luxury brands and identified where the competition outmatches Lexus' own lineup in body rigidity.
Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama in Aichi, Japan
A lot of the testing has been taking place at Toyota's Shimoyama test track in Japan, which features section of track that mimic parts of Germany's famed Nürburgring racetrack. With the extra rigidity, the vehicles are delivering noticeable improvements in steering response, according to Automotive News.
With its findings, Lexus will start to add structural reinforcements to its vehicles with annual model changes and mid-cycle refreshes. The first vehicle to benefit from the new strategy was the RZ electric compact crossover that arrived for 2023.
Lexus is also developing a next-generation EV platform that will reportedly be sportier than what we're used to from Lexus. Part of this will be due to a gigacasting process that is expected to help boost rigidity.
The first EVs on the platform are due around 2026 and were previewed last year by the LF-ZC and LF-ZL concept cars.
