If you don't mention it, it is estimated that many people will forget that the world's first electric-driven SUV was the RX 400h released in 2005.
Lexus can certainly be said to be a pioneer in electrification, but when Chinese and European luxury brands identify as pure electric, Lexus moves half a beat slower.
On April 20, Lexus announced that it was embracing pure electric – the new RZ officially debuted in the world.
The Toyota bZ4X on the same platform is available in two versions, dual motor and single motor, with a single motor output of 150kW (201 hp) and dual motors of 80kW + 80kW (214 hp). The Lexus RZ's eAxle electric drive system has a front motor of 150 kW and a rear motor of 80 kW.
The capacity of the ternary lithium pool is 71.4kWh, and the high probability is Panasonic battery. But Lexus hasn't released mileage yet, saying there could be a slight discrepancy in each country's data.
In the impression of the Chinese people, Lexus is a brand of luxury, comfort and tranquility, but it has nothing to do with sports. But in fact, Lexus has always been very obsessed with sports - a generation of classic supercars, LF-A understands.
Lexus said that the new RZ represents the future of Lexus design and technology direction. Then the new car can be summed up in one sentence: half luxury, half sport.
Let's first take a look at luxury design, how RZ expresses the language of pure electric design.
Lexus has said before that because pure electricity does not need to consider the cooling and exhaust needs of fuel vehicles, it can focus more on aerodynamic performance. Low front cover and minimal forward air port. Active intake grille When cooling air is not needed, the grille automatically closes to reduce wind resistance.
The iconic design of the fuel-age Lexus is the "spindle-shaped" front face grille, and this design is also found on the RZ that encloses the front face, and it has evolved into a "spindle body".
Interior design is a highlight of the RZ, and Lexus calls its cockpit design the "Tazuna Bridle Concept" – riders and racehorses get to know each other through the reins and build trust is the inspiration for the rein concept cockpit.
Translated into the vernacular, it is "driver-centric".
The biggest highlight of the RZ cockpit is the special-shaped steering wheel, which is not only very cool, but also no half of the steering wheel does not block the line of sight ahead. In order to ensure that this special-shaped steering wheel will not be troublesome when operating, RZ for the first time uses the Steel by Wire variable ratio electronic steering system.
Steer-by-wire technology, which we've talked about in previous articles, is one of its roles to enhance the luxurious comfort of RZ.
Since steer-by-wire has no mechanical connection, it can isolate excess vibrations from tires and brakes, and only feed important driving information such as road conditions back to the driver. In addition, the RZ is the first to be equipped with a frequency response shock absorber (FRD*2 II), which can adjust the elongation stroke damping force accordingly based on the vibration frequency feedback of the road surface.
So for the luxurious comfort of the RZ, I am very much looking forward to it.
And the signature quiet performance, Lexus said that compared to fuel vehicles, RZ power batteries placed under the floor act as a sound barrier. Even the entire perimeter of the front cover is sealed to eliminate noise from airflow disturbances.
On the sporty side of RZ, in addition to the performance improvement brought by the steer-by-wire steering, the main highlight is the DIRECT4 (Electric Drive Control Technology) electronic dynamic four-wheel drive system.
The DIRECT4 electronic dynamic 4WD system precisely controls the distribution of front and rear wheel drive forces based on information collected by the vehicle's wheel speed, acceleration pedal and steering angle sensors, with a distribution ratio between 0:100 and 100:0.
In a promotional video released by Lexus last December, we saw chief engineer Watanabe just in the test drive demonstration, can let the DIRECT4 test car change the driving mode in motion: it can be full front-wheel drive, or 50:50 four-wheel drive, or 20:80 rear-wheel drive four-wheel drive.
The direct4 was developed not only to emphasize drivability, but also to align it with Lexus' extremely high demands on comfort.
The vast majority of electric vehicles are not comfortable enough in terms of electric drive, so there are still expectations for lexus RZ at this point.