Every year at the Detroit Auto Show, the Eyes on Design awards honors the best designs among production vehicles and concepts debuting that year. Unlike, say, the North American International Car and Truck of the Year awards, the only vehicles eligible for an Eyes on Design award are the ones that introduce themselves to the world – well, really just North America – in Detroit.

What’s particularly interesting is that the judges for these two awards (one for production vehicles and the other for concepts) are all active or retired designers themselves, so they know a little something about the topic. This year’s group includes, among others, Volkswagen head of design Walter de Silva, President and CEO of SRT Ralph Gilles, and GM Vice President of Global Design Ed Welburn.

This year, the Eyes on Design awards were handed out to the 2013 Ford Fusion in the production category and the Lexus LF-LC in the concept category. The Fusion’s fellow finalists were the 2013 BMW 3 Series and 2013 Cadillac ATS, while the LF-LC eked out a W over the Chevrolet Tru 140S and Lincoln MKZ.

Ford Fusion, Lexus LF-LC win Eyes on Design awards originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog Concept Cars

No related posts.

Thanks to our friends over at Road & Track jumping the embargo gun, we received our first sneak peak of the Lexus LF-LC Concept. Now the rest of the story has been published, with R&T taking a thorough look at how Toyota’s California-based Calty Design Research facility came up with the look of the racy hybrid 2+2 coupe.

“Only a few written attributes were given as criteria: avant-garde beauty, originality, driving joy and unequaled technology,” according to the story, which says Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda himself weighed in with a mandate that the car “have the ‘wow’ factor.”

Lexus has been working on the LF-LC Concept for a year and a half, so the concept is no mere auto show roller. That kind of attention-to-detail shows in the new photos, especially inside the car. A finely detailed interior with wave designs stitched into the leather door panels is a nice touch that reinforces the car’s exterior design language, which R&T says Lexus is calling “tumbling ribbon.” The car also has a multi-layered instrument panel that looks like it could have been inspired by any number of sci-fi video games.

One thing missing from the article is any further information about the hybrid drivetrain system in the car. Curiously, while the press release on Toyota’s Japanese website announcing that it would be unveiling the car mentions “Advanced Lexus Hybrid Drive,” that line was omitted from the release on the American site. Apparently we’ll have to wait until the car’s official reveal at the Detroit Auto Show on January 9 to find out what (if anything) is under the hood of the LF-LC.

There’s plenty more to take in, including two new beauty shots from Autocar, so be sure to check out all the photos in the gallery.

UPDATE: Lexus has released two high-res images and we’ve added them to the gallery above.

More photos of hybrid Lexus LF-LC Concept hit the web [UPDATE] originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 04 Jan 2012 10:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

GoAuto RSS – Car News

No related posts.

Thanks to the folks at Road & Track, we got our first glimpse at the Detroit-bound Lexus LF-LC concept yesterday, and to follow suit, Lexus has released its first official image showing the new two-plus-two in all its glory. We don’t know much about the new coupe, except that the design was “crafted from a clean sheet of paper,” and that “the LF-LC blends both high technology and organic shapes to connect the driver to the machine.”

Alright then.

We’ve suggested that the LF-LC could be a Lexus LS-based coupe to take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SL and BMW 6 Series, but we won’t know exactly what’s in store until the concept car is revealed next month. For now, scroll through our attached image galleries – one of the official Lexus shots, the other of the leaked R&T images – and follow the jump for Lexus’ brief press release.

Continue reading Lexus releases official LF-LC image

Lexus releases official LF-LC image originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.

We’re still a couple weeks away from the Detroit Auto Show, but the Lexus LF-Lc concept has leaked thanks to the crew at Road & Track and their YouTube account.

We still don’t know much about Lexus’ Detroit-bound concept, but the swoopy coupe combines some of the more emotive elements of the LFA, along with the grille of the LF-Gh concept that eventually formed the basis of the Lexus GS. The massively elongated hood terminates with headlamps that plummet deep into the air intakes and a more extreme grille than that found on the Predator-esque fascia of the Gh.

With an “Lc” designation, this could signal Lexus’ intention of building an LS-based coupe to take on the likes of the Mercedes-Benz SL, but until the official curtains are pulled in Detroit, we’ll have to wait and see.

In the meantime, check out the video after the jump for the unintentional early reveal. As long as it stays on YouTube…

Continue reading Road & Track leaks Lexus LF-Lc concept

Road & Track leaks Lexus LF-Lc concept originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments
Autoblog

No related posts.