FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW: Baby Lexus SUV

Lexus appears likely to preview its first compact SUV at next month’s Frankfurt motor show, judging by a press release and teaser image released globally late today.

The Japanese luxury brand has announced it will stage the world debut of an “all-new” concept car in Germany on September 10, but provides no further information.

Close inspection of the teaser image confirms it is unrelated to the upcoming RC Coupe, which was previewed by the LF-CC concept at last year’s Paris show and will make its global production debut in range-topping 339kW RC F guise at the Detroit show January, with mainstream versions to appear at New York next April.

As an aside, the all-new RC Coupe line up will be opened by the RC 200t – a model name that was registered with the Australian trademarks office last week, powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine from BMW.

There will also be the 2.5-litre petrol-electric RC 300h hybrid and the 3.5-litre V6-powered RC 350, but the performance potential of Lexus’ new entry-level turbo-four was revealed by the brand’s new RC coupe-based 2014 Super GT-spec race car, which was released in Japan last week and will be powered by a mid-mounted direct-injection 2.0-litre turbo engine delivering more than 400kW.

Nor does the concept bear any resemblance to the GS large sedan, a performance-leading F version of which is also under development at Lexus.

However, Lexus has publicly stated for some time that it’s next additional (ie: “all-new”) model will be a compact SUV and motoring.com.au understands its world premiere was fast-tracked from the Tokyo show in November to Frankfurt next month.

That’s because compact SUV sales continue to boom in Europe, where automotive brands are highly influential in convincing their parent companies to display their newest products at motor shows – in this case Europe’s largest.

As we reported long before the first spy pics emerged last month, the all-new Lexus SUV will be a direct rival for the likes of Audi’s Q3/Q5 and BMW’s X1/X3.

To be positioned below the larger RX crossover, the mid-size five-seat SUV is expected to go by the ‘NX’ name and to be based on the platform that underpins parent company Toyota’s fourth-generation RAV4.

Given Lexus has trademarked the NX 200t and NX 300h names, expect the newcomer to be powered by the same 2.0-litre turbo-four that will debut in the RC 200t and the 2.5-litre petrol-electric drivetrain seen in the homegrown Camry Hybrid.

A 164kW version of the same hybrid drive system will power the new Lexus GS 300h, which will also be unveiled at the Frankfurt show, before it becomes the economy leader of Lexus’ latest GS large sedan line-up in Australia late this year.

Before then in November, Lexus will launch its new ES medium sedan line-up in Australia.

While the concept version that previews it will make waves at Frankfurt next month, look for the all-new Lexus NX crossover to be revealed in final production guise at the Geneva show before its global release next year.

What Lexus will show at Tokyo in November is now the subject of speculation, but our money’s on the GS F.

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