Luxury Lexus baby hatches out

Prepare for the birth of the baby Lexus! Toyota’s luxury arm is adding a compact hatch to its range – and the car will make its debut in concept form at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

Targeting the BMW 1-Series and Audi A3, the model will be Lexus’ first foray into a sector of the market that’s proved extremely popular for premium car makers. Likely to be badged BS or CS, it will be based on a modified Toyota Auris platform and will be the first front-wheel-drive Lexus. Other than revealing the name of the concept car – C-Premium – bosses are keeping information about the newcomer under wraps, so we’ve produced these artist’s impressions to give you an idea of how it will look. The car will be neatly styled, and takes inspiration from the new RX450h SUV at the front, with a bold three-bar grille and sleek headlights. There will be a hatchback boot at the rear and seating for five.

Under the skin, the flagship will use the same powertrain as the US market-only HS250h – that means a 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, boosted by an electric motor to produce around 185bhp. With stop-start technology and regenerative braking, it will be extremely fuel efficient but also promises hot hatch performance. Entry-level engines will be taken from the Auris range, and are set to include a 1.6-litre petrol unit.

Insiders have revealed that the Frankfurt concept car will be virtually identical to the showroom-ready version, which is due to debut at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2010. UK sales will start soon after, with a price of £16,500.