When Captain James T. Kirk declared the Starship Enterprise will “boldly go where no man has gone before,” he probably inspired many to chase their dreams. One of them would appear to be Lexus, as the premium carmaker aims to “boldly go where no Lexus has gone before,” which is off-roading with the NX PHEV Offroad Concept.
While some are fairly capable, most Lexus would probably never see an off-road path their entire privileged life. That’s something the carmaker wants to change with its pair of concepts unveiled at the Tokyo Auto Salon.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot('/22557728108/my_article_fourthp_under_pc', [
728,
90
], 'div-gpt-ad-1685525140735-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1685525140735-0'); });
Not only are they meant to engage the path less travelled but it’ll also do so with carbon neutrality.
Also Read: Dead on arrival, Lexus just killed the 2022 Lexus NX’s future in Malaysia
The NX PHEV Offroad Concept is based on the NX 450h+. Apart from the lifted ride height, the concept pretty much just blacks out bits of the exterior such as the grille, door handles, roof rails and carrier basket whist throwing on some 265/65R17 all-terrain tyres on 17-inch wheels.
Something that might leave you a little more exposed to the elements is the ROV (Recreational Off-highway Vehicle) Concept. It’s the first Lexus vehicle to use a hydrogen engine.
A 1.0-liter inline-three DOHC 4-valve engine running on compressed hydrogen sends power to all four wheels via a sequential transmission with paddle shifters. Drivers can even switch to 2WD for when the terrain isn’t as challenging.
Again, don’t get your hopes up that the ROV Concept will see the light of a showroom floor but never say never. Lexus can always make the NX PHEV Offroad Concept a reality and include a production ROV with every purchase together with a trailer to tow it to the mountains.
βBetter late than never.β Some despise it, others begrudgingly agree with it but he swears by itβ¦ much to the chagrin of everyone around him. That unfortunately stems from all of his project cars not running most of the time, which in turn is testament to his questionable decision-making skills in life. A culmination of many wrongs fortunately making a right; much like his project cars on the rare occasions they run, heβs still trying to figure out if another project car is the way to go.
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag.cmd = googletag.cmd || []; googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.defineSlot('/22557728108/my_article_relatedmodel_above_pc', [
728,
90
], 'div-gpt-ad-1685525247138-0').addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest(); googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); googletag.enableServices(); });
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1685525247138-0'); });