Toyota and Lexus at the exhibition in Tokyo: a lot of concepts!
Toyota has become the record holder for the number of concept cars shown at the Japan Mobility Show. But the brightest and most unusual instance stands out from this set — the Toyota FT-Se coupe. After all, this is the ideological heir of the compact mid-engined Toyota MR2 sports car, which was produced from 1984 to 2007! Rumors of a revival have been going around for a long time, and at the end of 2021, the first prototype of a new coupe was shown. But now another car has appeared at the exhibition.
The Toyota FT-Se concept has a classic “mid-engined” silhouette, although there is no internal combustion engine here anymore: the coupe has an electric drive, the characteristics of which are not disclosed. In front, instead of the company’s logo, the emblem of the Gazoo Racing sports division is emblazoned. In the cabin there is a rectangular steering wheel, small screens on the sides and a bulging center console trimmed with plastic honeycombs. Toyota cautiously hinted that the FT-Se is not just a beautiful layout, but a completely viable idea of creating an electric sports car. There are even plans for a special manual transmission for the electric motor! In any case, we should wait for the possible launch of production of this model no earlier than 2026.
Electric crossover Toyota FT-3e attracts attention with a wedge-shaped silhouette with a flattened nose. There is a “running line” on the doors, where basic information about the condition of the car can be displayed, and a sensor similar to a fingerprint scanner is located on the middle rack. In the cabin there are many separate screens and a single—spoke steering wheel. You also remembered the old Citroens?
The Toyota Land Cruiser Se and EPU concepts shown the day before also arrived at the motor show. Of course, not on its own. But we must admit that in this pair, the cargo-passenger EPU looks much more ready for production. In addition, if the Cruiser was tightly tinted, then you could look into the interior of the pickup truck. The public was shown the possibilities of transforming the body and interior: the EPU has a removable partition between the cabin and the cargo compartment. Both concepts have an electric drive and are devoid of a frame.
Toyota also showed two Kayoibako concept vans at once (they have a key-car format) and a pre-production IMV 0 electric truck (it debuted for the first time almost a year ago). And the Toyota Auto Body division, which is engaged in the production of a number of serial models, presented a lobbyish minivan Toyota X-Van Gear. The car with a length of 4695 mm and a height of 1855 mm has three rows of seats and ample opportunities for interior transformation.
Two more concepts were shown by a subsidiary of Lexus. Of course, they are also electric: this is a large crossover LF-ZL (Lexus Future Zero-emission Luxury) and liftback LF-ZC (Lexus Future Zero-emission Catalyst). Concept cars are made in a general style both outside and inside, and there is no information about the technique. It is stated only that thanks to the use of “new technologies”, the power reserve can be twice as large as that of electric vehicles of this class currently produced. It is possible that we are talking about solid-state batteries, which Toyota is working hard on.
The Lexus LF-ZC liftback is not as large as it seems in the pictures: 4750 mm in length, 1880 mm in width and only 1390 mm in height. That is, it is shorter and lower than the current Toyota Camry! The wheelbase is 2890 mm. The aerodynamic drag coefficient Cx is expected to be less than 0.2.
The Lexus LF-ZL crossover, on the contrary, is very large: 5,300 mm in length, 2020 mm in width and 1,700 mm in height. That is noticeably longer and wider, but still lower than the frame Lexus LX. The wheelbase is also rather big: 3350 mm. The release of a serial liftback based on the LF-ZC concept is planned around 2026, and the LF-ZL crossover will enter the conveyor even later.
We express our special gratitude to Olga Machilskaya for the information provided.