Lexus cranked up the wick on rumors of a spiritual successor to the LFA supercar last month when it revealed the “Sport Concept” at Monterey Car Week. Our spy photographers in Europe just captured three different variants of this new car testing at the ‘ring—one mild, one wild, and one more middle-of-the-road. And our spies may have solved a mystery that has plagued your author since the concept was revealed.
But first, just look at this thing. It’s wide, it’s low and it’s rocking some serious aero. Lexus was testing it against both a Mercedes-AMG GT R and a GT Black Series—some serious bogeys when it comes to keeping pace at the Nürburgring. Now that we’ve seen the Sport Concept, Lexus has less to hide, but the camo on these prototypes remains fairly comprehensive. One component of that disguise gave Lexus some grief, and helped me solve my lingering puzzle.
When we first saw the Sport Concept, the teaser video included some aerial “footage” of a rendered prototype with an odd element lurking beneath its rear glass. It looked conspicuously like an engine cover, but given the prevailing rumors that the LFR would be a traditional front-engine coupe based on an ICE powertrain, I wrote it off. Well, turns out it was something after all, and Lexus was having trouble keeping it covered while it was lapping the ‘Ring.
Yep, that appears to be a component of the LFR’s hybrid system. So while there may not be an internal-combustion engine under that cover, there may well be an electric motor or two straddling the LFR’s rear axle.
Lexus offered essentially no information about the Sport Concept when it was revealed, and hasn’t really given us anything more since. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we get the full story. You can browse our full gallery of spy shots below.
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Byron is a contributing writer and auto reviewer with a keen eye for infrastructure, sales and regulatory stories.
