Lexus is showing off a new luxury crossover concept at the North American International Auto Show this week: The LF-1 ‘Limitless,’ which has a sleek, sporty look, and a range of features designed around alternatives tailored to a potential owner’s drivetrain preferences and more.
The Lexus LF-1 is designed to potentially house either a fuel cell, plug-in hybrid, gasoline or all-electric powertrain, and this is something that Lexus is looking at as an example for how it envisions its entire vehicle lineup will operate by 2025 and beyond. The car also has LED lighting surrounding the grille for signalling to external drivers and people, and its flowing lines are meant to evoke sport performance capabilities as well as versatility.
Lexus IS also using this platform to was off some automated driving features, including self-parking and drive-by-wire steering, braking signalling and more. The car also has what the automaker is calling a “four-dimensional navigation system,” with the fourth dimension being time; in practice, this means the vehicle will basically back an intelligent assistant on board that is anticipating your upcoming destinations, etc. based on your schedule and other personal info.
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It’ll offer up stuff like suggested fuel pit stops, as well as hotel suggestions – it can even make reservations on the fly. Lexus describes it as a “concierge,” but it sounds like, in truth, it’s essentially the kind of personal smart assistant that’s now common across smartphones, and that soon will be standard in the automotive world, too.
The LF-1 also features a gesture-based input system, as well as touch-sensitive steering wheel controls with captive feedback, all of which seek to improve further upon hardware buttons in reducing driver distraction and making it easier to interact with the car’s various features.