Cleaner RX heads Lexus show stars

The hybrid 4x4 – first seen a year ago at the Tokyo Motor Show – gives plenty of clues about the look of 2009’s all-new RX off-roader.

It features a new hybrid system, too. The production car, due next summer, will have the bigger 3.5-litre V6 from the GS450h, and its fifth-generation petrol-electric set-up is smaller, lighter and more efficient. As a result, it improves on the current variant’s 34.9mpg economy and 192g/km emissions. And Lexus is expected to ditch the petrol version of the RX in the face of dwindling sales.

As we revealed in Issue 1,029, the firm will debut a drop-top version of its Lexus compact executive car at Paris, too. This gets a metal folding roof and shares the saloon’s mechanicals – although Lexus has no plans to offer a fixed-head two-door alongside the coupé-cabriolet.

An all-wheel-drive version of the LS460 flagship will also appear, with an advanced three-diff system to split torque between the axles. Built to special order only in the UK, this will cost £5,000 more than the £71,755 LS460 SE-L.