Lexus weighs an electric future for F Sport
Lexus could take future F Sport models much more clearly into the electric age. Kohei Chiashi, chief engineer of the new ES, said a fully electric drivetrain suits a sportier Lexus well, because electric motors give instant response and allow far more precise control of traction.
Lexus sees sporting potential in electricity
According to Chiashi, the advantage of an electric drivetrain is not just immediate torque. The bigger point is control. Electric motors can be managed with great precision, while torque can be shifted between the wheels almost instantly. Carscoops reports that the new Lexus ES 500e can, in certain situations, send all available torque to the rear wheels, although the driver cannot select that manually.
That gives a useful hint of where Lexus wants to take F Sport. In the past, the emotional pull of a sporting Lexus often came from a V8 engine and old fashioned mechanical character. The next phase may rely instead on software, four wheel drive control and the reaction speed of electric motors.
The ES missed out on F Sport, but not by accident
The new generation Lexus ES does not get an F Sport version at launch. Lexus made that choice deliberately, to keep attention on the standard models rather than split the message too early. In Chiashi’s view, the dual motor ES 500e already delivers several qualities once associated with F Sport in the petrol era.
According to Lexus Europe, the ES 500e uses a 75 kWh battery, DIRECT4 all wheel drive and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. Lexus expects a WLTP range of up to 530 kilometres, although some figures still awaited final homologation at the time of publication.
The RZ already points in that direction
An electric future for F Sport is not merely a thought experiment. Lexus already revealed the fully electric RZ 550e F Sport, which produces 300 kW, or 408 DIN hp. European figures put its 0 to 100 km/h time at 4.4 seconds, with a WLTP range of up to 450 kilometres.
The RZ 550e F Sport also gets Lexus Interactive Manual Drive, a virtual gearshift system that uses steering wheel paddles, sound and acceleration and deceleration control to give the driver a more mechanical sense of connection. In Toyota’s official material, Lexus describes it as part of the “dialogue between driver and car”.
F Sport changes by powertrain, not by name
Lexus has not confirmed that the entire F Sport range will move only to electric drive. The available signs point more to a shift in thinking. Lexus now appears to be taking a fully electric approach much more seriously for future sporting versions.
Strategically, that makes sense. Electric four wheel drive lets Lexus create a fast, precisely controlled car without a large combustion engine. The harder question is more emotional: how does F Sport keep its character when sound, gearshifts and mechanical feel increasingly come from software rather than metal?
