New electric Lexus LFA supercar to debut Toyota's solid-state batteries

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The next-generation Lexus LFA may reset expectations of electric supercars.

This enticing new model shares its aluminum architecture with the Toyota GR GT.

Lexus isn’t interested in using simulated gear shifts like Hyundai and Porsche.

Amid a sea of high-revving, big-capacity supercars and hypercars at last week’s Goodwood Festival of Speed, the future Lexus LFA made a subtle and very silent dynamic debut. The successor to the company’s iconic supercar, you see, will be all-electric.

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Lexus previewed the next-gen LFA last December, showcasing it alongside the Toyota GR GT, which shares its aluminum architecture. However, whereas that car uses a powerful V8 engine, the new LFA will be electric, a far cry from the original car’s all-screaming, all-conquering, Yamaha-tuned V10.

Read: These Future Supercars From Toyota And Lexus Share DNA But Not A Soul

While this will disappoint many rev-heads, the new LFA could get tech enthusiasts very excited.

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First Lexus On Solid-State Cells

According to a report from Autocar, the new LFA will be the first production Lexus to run advanced solid-state battery cells. Toyota has spent years developing them, and they now look close to ready for the road. Solid-state cells hold more energy in less space than the conventional liquid-based packs in use today, which is where their advantage lies.

Speaking to the publication, Shogo Kasamatsu, who penned the recent LFA concept, said Lexus wants to upend how people think about performance EVs. The concept’s restrained look drew on the original LFA, which he called “a very humble design, very artistic, and based on its true function.” The car was shaped to carry that message, he added, rather than march in step with Lexus’s current design language.

Similarly, LFA program general manager Yukihiro Yukita said Lexus wants to convince supercar buyers to opt for the LFA over a more conventional, ICE-powered alternative. He acknowledged that weak demand for high-priced performance EVs is the program’s biggest hurdle, but said Lexus intends to lead the shift from combustion supercars to electric ones.

Making A Fun EV?

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“What I get from the market is that a BEV is fake,” he said, “because we imitate the sound [of an ICE], but that’s not something we want to do.” Lexus has no interest in trailing Porsche, Hyundai, and Mercedes-AMG by faking gear shifts or piping in engine noise. Yukita wants drivers to “feel like they are driving with an engine” without cheaply mimicking one.

“We’re not just wanting to replicate the sound of the engine, we want to redesign the sound itself,” he said. Engineering teams will strip out unnecessary noise and vibration and rework what remains, sharpening the sensory experience rather than manufacturing a fake one. EVs give up the sound and vibration that pull a driver in, he admitted, but electric motors answer with a responsiveness and linearity no combustion engine can match.

It all sounds rather fascinating, but it’s hard to imagine how Lexus will be able to get anywhere close to matching the thrills of that old V10.

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