A Lexus electric car with manual transmission? Are we living in the Twilight Zone?
Petrol heads have long lamented certain aspects that are “missing” from the experience of driving an EV, like the delicious revving of an engine or the very tactile experience of shifting gears by hand. Well, Lexus must be feeling the same way, because the brand is developing a manual transmission for its Electrified Sport concept, a successor to the LFA.
Lexus would provide all the details that you’d see in a normal manual transmission car, from the clutch pedal and gear shift to the tachometer. The car’s software would be able to reproduce the driving experiences of different vehicles, and drivers can select the setup they prefer. Early prototypes of this technology limited the power from the electric motor, while additional power was unlocked once the driver changed gears. Wild.
In addition to a manual approach to power output, the Electrified Sport concept will have even more tech, like Lexus’s One Motion Grip steer-by-wire system. This setup takes away the mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. Lexus says that this would provide better agility at low speeds as well as better stability on highways. There will also be brake-by-wire tech included, though Lexus hasn’t given many details on how that setup works.
No word on the battery or powertrain specs, nor do we know when the Electrified Sport would be ready for production. But right now, color us intrigued at the idea of Lexus trying to save the manual car.
Lexus Electrified Sport Concept
SOURCE | IMAGES: MOTOR1
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