Lexus UX SUV concept revealed

The new Lexus UX concept will be unveiled at this month’s Paris motor show, where it will showcase the design direction of the carmaker’s future models, including a new small SUV that will replace the CT200h.

Partly revealed today in a single teaser image, the SUV has been designed by Lexus’s European design centre, ED2, and flaunts muscular wheel arches with sharp, angular lines strewn across its five-door body. The two rear doors curve out with the swollen wheel arches, and the image indicates that the door handles are all housed in the car’s middle. This implies that the back doors are rear-hinged to open in a 'suicide' fashion.

At the back, there’s a coupé-like roofline and sharp tail-lights with what appear to be LED internals. The overall body looks smaller than those of the Lexus NX and RX, supporting information from sources that the model previews a production car that'll replace the CT200h.

Mounted on the front of the doors are rear-facing cameras that are likely to display the rear view on screens inside the car. Lexus has said the car features “imaginative technologies for an immersive driver experience”, hinting at the fitment of an advanced infotainment system. It has also said the interior mixes traditional craftsmanship with high-tech manufacturing techniques but hasn’t provided any images of the cabin yet.

Although no technical information about the car has been released, a pair of rear tailpipe surrounds suggest this model features a combustion engine of some sort. Given recent trends in the motor industry, it seems likely the concept will be a hybrid or use some kind of electrified power. More information will be revealed at the Paris motor show on September 29.