{"id":53917,"date":"2012-09-27T11:23:39","date_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:23:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thedetroitbureau.com\/?p=53917"},"modified":"2012-09-27T11:23:39","modified_gmt":"2012-09-27T15:23:39","slug":"first-look-lexus-lf-cc-concept","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/2012\/09\/first-look-lexus-lf-cc-concept\/","title":{"rendered":"First Look: Lexus LF-CC Concept"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Lexus LF-CC Concept appears to be very, very close to production-ready.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Lexus has been dropping a number of surprises in recent months \u2013 all meant to demonstrate that it\u2019s serious about pumping more \u201cpassion\u201d into the brand.<\/p>\n

The latest effort, the LF-CC Concept, may be the most aggressive example of that to date, taking the maker\u2019s L Finesse design language to new extremes — with a bold new iteration of the Lexus spindle grille that has become the symbol of the brand\u2019s new direction.<\/p>\n

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Auto News You Can Use!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Likely to return in production form, the Lexus LF-CC is making its formal debut at this year\u2019s Paris Motor Show.\u00a0 And it also emphasizes that the Japanese brand\u2019s love affair with hybrid technology isn\u2019t cooling down.<\/p>\n

The brand\u2019s U.S. boss, Mark Templin, told TheDetroitBureau.com last month that by mid-decadeLexus will have eight, possibly even nine, gas-electric offerings in its line-up.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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The Lexus LF-CC Concept delivers the boldest application yet of the maker's spindle-grille.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether the LF-CC will become one of those models remains to be seen but unlike some show cars the concept on the Paris show floor has the sort of polished details that suggest it could be testing the waters for a planned production model.<\/p>\n

Targeting the midsize, or D-, segment, the LF-CC boasts the latest iteration of the Lexus L-finesse design language \u2013 starting with the increasingly familiar \u201cspindle\u201d grille, here framed by the lip of the hood and, below, by a deep lower spoiler, the grille mesh itself encased in a metal-finish surround giving the nose a sculpted appearance.\u00a0 Narrow headlamps feature an unusual 3 LED-projector design with separate Daytime Running Lights integrated into the bumper surface.<\/p>\n

The overall design was carefully tailored to maximize aerodynamics, according to Lexus, the lower fenders meant to manage air flow to both the engine and front brakes.\u00a0 The rear fenders are notably less pronounced than those up front.<\/p>\n

Like both the LF-LC concept and the LFA production supercar, airflow has been carefully managed underneath the vehicle, as well to maximize downforce. Sculpted fins flow from underneath the LF-CC and upwards through the wheel arches to merge with the falling roofline \u2013 creating a large rear spoiler.<\/p>\n

Unlike previous dedicated hybrid models that suffered from a bit of the wimp factor, the Lexus LF-CC appears to aimed at presenting a strong and aggressive stance.<\/p>\n

The show car is finished in what Lexus calls a \u201cFluid Titanium\u201d paint, a high-gloss metallic finish that helps emphasize the body\u2019s form.<\/p>\n

Inside, the Lexus LF-CC follows the brand\u2019s HMI, or Human Machine Interface, design philosophy, with the instrument panel divided into an upper \u201cDisplay Zone,\u201d including a large multi-display screen, and a lower \u201cOperation Zone\u201d for various knobs and switches, as well as what Lexus promises is a \u201cuniquely designed shift lever and an innovative touch tracer display for remote system control.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contrasting the cool Fluid Titanium exterior, the cabin is trimmed in warmer amber leather with metallic accents.<\/p>\n

Under the skin, the Lexus LF-CC is powered by a 2.5-liter inline-four gas engine paired with a single, high-output, water-cooled electric motor.\u00a0 The maker is holding back specific details such as horsepower and torque, as well as specifics on the battery system used, but it appears to be a different drivetrain package than has been in use in such prior Lexus models as the dedicated HS 250h hybrid and the new Lexus LS 600h flagship.<\/p>\n

The Japanese maker does note that the LF-CC\u2019s CO2 emissions are \u201ctargeted below 100 g\/km,\u201d or grams per kilometer.\u00a0 It adds that the \u201cpowertrain will achieve class-leading energy efficiency, with more than 2 hp produced per gram of CO2<\/sub>.\u201d\u00a0 A quick bit of math might suggest that translates into something in the 200 hp range.<\/p>\n

And while it remains to be seen if the LF-CC design will reappear in production form, as is, Lexus says the new drivetrain very definitely has a future in its upcoming line-up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lexus has been dropping a number of surprises in recent months \u2013 all meant to demonstrate that it\u2019s serious about pumping more \u201cpassion\u201d into the brand. Now comes the hybrid LF-CC, one of the most edgy and intriguing concepts the maker has yet produced. The LF-CC may reappear in production skin but Lexus says the hybrid driveline definitely will be back, reports TheDetroitBureau.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"make":[],"post-state":[],"category_old":[151],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53917"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53917"},{"taxonomy":"make","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/make?post=53917"},{"taxonomy":"post-state","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post-state?post=53917"},{"taxonomy":"category_old","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedetroitbureau.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category_old?post=53917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}