Lexus has filed a trademark for the name RZ 450e, which could be the name of its upcoming fully electric large SUV inspired by the LF-1 Limitless concept from 2018.
Toyota Motor Corporation filed the trademark with the Australian Intellectual Property agency in August, and it was accepted in November and published a few weeks ago. While a trademark filing doesn’t always mean there is a product in the pipeline to use the name, it can give us a pretty good clue.
Earlier today Lexus sent out some teaser images of an all-new concept it plans to unveil in the second quarter of this year. It also confirmed a production model, using the concept’s design language, will also appear before the end of the year.
There are quite a few loose ends to tie up here. Firstly, Lexus hasn’t specifically said that the concept will spawn a production version, only that the design language will be for a production model and potentially for other production modes in the future. However, upon closer inspection, the teaser images do show some resemblance to the LF-1 Limitless concept.
Lexus doesn’t currently offer a rival to the popular large luxury SUVs such as the Audi Q8, BMW X6, Mercedes GLE Coupe, and Range Rover Sport. In fact, the largest luxury-focused SUV it offers is the RX, with the LX regarded as a heavy-duty proposition.
The RZ450e could be the name for the LF-1, especially with the number ‘450’ in the name. A high number like this is usually reserved for large models. Obviously the ‘e’ means it’s fully electric, like the UX 300e. This could come in as the second all-electric model from Lexus.
At this stage it’s all just speculation, but given Lexus is planning to launch at least one all-new model this year and a number of fresh products next year, a new RZ model line could be on the cards. We’ll hopefully know more when the concept debuts in a couple of months.
