It scooped the EyesOn Design best concept car award and it’s fair to say that there’s been a lot of love for the Lexus LF-LC Concept here in Detroit. This is – according to its design team – the next step for the L-Finesse design language. And where previous Lexus concepts and production cars have been busy, sometimes ill-resolved pieces of design, the LF-LC is well resolved, beautifully surfaced and with contemporary details and graphics.
Only the DRG has raised eyebrows. But even here there is disagreement. Some in the CDN team think it overly aggressive, the grille a little too Audi-like and the lamps a little too busy. But others think that Lexus has refined the grille so it’s quite distinct and that the combined lamp and DRL signature is original.
What impresses most is how – particularly in the interior – the design is cohesive despite the busyness. The interior is almost worthy of Citroen concept – there’s a certain French flair on show as well as an opulent, rich material palette. It could be too much, but everything is controlled just so, and it works.
Overall, it’s impressive to see this from Lexus, and pleasing generally to be able to say that, considered together with what we saw in Tokyo, along with the Toyota NS4 and Honda NSX here, we now no longer need to consider Japanese car design as residing in the doldrums.
The exterior design of the LF-LC is impressive, but it’s the interior that – in many ways – stands out more. It manages to combine a nod to the LFA, with materials and forms that are new to Lexus. And while there is a lot going on, it just about hangs together as a cohesive whole.
The Lexus LF-LC has caused easily the biggest stir here at Detroit. Here, exterior designer Edward Lee, talks us around the exterior of the concept, and talks about what it means for the brand
It’s always interesting catching designers checking out other brands’ products and so bumping into the ever-affable Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW Group’s design chief on the Lexus stand I was keen to know what he thought of the LF-LC concept.
“It’s wild, certainly not the Lexus we’ve known before” he said. “But when the Japanese go wild they are totally in control. Unlike others who can go too far. Of course you can always question whether it needs all the jewellery, but the craftsmanship is very good.”
We’re inclined to agree with his sentiments – yes the lamp graphics in particular are complex in extremis but as an overall piece of design it’s surely the most impressive piece of design the brand has shown in a very long time.
