• The upcoming Lexus TZ has been photographed for the first time testing at the Nürburgring
• Heavy camouflage wrap obscures the details, but the rear three-quarter angle hints at a sporty, well-proportioned silhouette with a full-width taillight bar
• Flush door handles and a panoramic glass roof are visible on the prototype, consistent with other recent Lexus models

We’ve been tracking the Lexus TZ since the “TZ 450e” and “TZ 550e” trademarks surfaced back in 2023, and now — less than two weeks after our deep-dive into everything we know about the model — the TZ has been caught on camera for the very first time.

A series of spy shots taken in and around the Nürburgring in Germany show a heavily wrapped prototype working through development testing, and even under all that camouflage, we can certainly tell this is a Lexus.

First Look at the TZ in the Metal

The TZ prototype is draped in the usual patchwork of matte vinyl, but the proportions come through clearly. The TZ is genuinely large with a roofline that slopes decisively toward the tail in a way that gives it a more athletic stance than you might expect from a three-row family hauler.

At the rear is a full-width taillight bar, another dedicated Lexus design cue. The rear haunches are muscular, and a low tailgate opening should make day-to-day loading practical for families. Notably, the roofline and greenhouse seem to very closely match the 2027 Toyota Highlander which we expected to be the TZ’s platform mate.

The rear three-quarter angle is particularly interesting: a large slanted window behind the C-pillar suggests that third-row occupants will have a meaningful view out — not the claustrophobic slot you sometimes find in this segment.

Design Details That Made It Through the Camo

Up front, the camouflage does its job well enough that specific headlight, grille, and bumper shapes are difficult to confirm, but the 2021 Electric Crossover Concept previewed angular lines and a sharp, muscular front fascia with compact headlights. If the production car follows the concept’s lead, the front end will be distinctly Lexus without leaning on the old spindle grille formula.

Spy shots also reveal Lexus signature E-Latch door handles both inside the cabin and on the outside of the vehicle, again comfirming this is certainly a Lexus.

What’s Under the Hood: TZ 450e and 550e

These spy shots don’t tell us anything new about powertrains, but the timing is a useful reminder of where the TZ fits in Lexus’ product plan. As we detailed previously, the TZ 450e is expected to produce 300-340 horsepower with an estimated range of 320 miles. The TZ 550e should push that further, potentially into the 400-horsepower range, giving the TZ a performance-oriented option to complement the entry model.

The Nürburgring is a natural testing ground for chassis development, but seeing a large Lexus crossover here is a first… and a positive sign as well. That’s an encouraging sign for the driving experience, and it lines up with an expected reveal before the end of 2026 and an on-sale date sometime in 2027.

The Waiting Game

For Lexus enthusiasts who have been skeptical about the brand’s electric direction, the TZ represents another step in that direction, and one that so far looks quite attractive. It’s a three-row family SUV — a high volume segment — and could give Lexus a major leg up over other luxury competitors who don’t offer an EV in this category yet.

We’ll be watching closely and will share more details as they surface.

• After its tenth season this year, Toyota will formally end the Lexus Racing program
• Resources and development will now transition to the Gazoo Racing brand
• Lexus Racing accumulated roughly 52 podium finishes and 17 wins over its full IMSA run from 2017 through 2025

Lexus Racing’s 10 Year Run

When Lexus rolled into Daytona International Speedway in 2017, it was making a statement. Sharing the grid with Porsche and Ferrari — two of motorsport’s most storied names — the brand had arrived at the highest level of North American sports car racing with something to prove. Over the years that followed, Lexus did exactly that… but If you’ve been tracking Toyota’s management of Lexus over the last few years, you won’t be surprised to learn that the Lexus Racing program ends this year.

Toyota’s decision to spin Gazoo Racing off as its own brand means the Lexus Racing chapter will officially close after the 2026 season. Beginning in 2027, GR USA will carry the torch with Toyota looking to leverage its motorsport platform to put a spotlight on an expanding performance lineup anchored by the highly anticipated GR GT.

By most measures, Lexus got what it came for. The brand used racing as a vehicle — pun intended — to reach new audiences and put its performance credentials on full display. A walk through the paddock at the 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona told the story well: fans brimming with Lexus Racing merchandise, curious shoppers at the product displays, and loyal dealers and enthusiasts returning year after year alongside company executives.

Nearly a decade of racing, and a job well done with 52 podium finishes and 17 wins while the 2026 season is still ongoing. Congratulations to the Lexus Racing team on what they built and achieved.

Lexus Racing Transitions to Gazoo Racing

After a two week period of account name changes on Facebook and Instagram – from Lexus Racing to Gazoo Racing, back to Lexus Racing, ending with Gazoo Racing USA – the following note was posted for Lexus Racing fans:

Why the change?

The shift to Gazoo Racing USA marks the beginning of a truly exciting time for ourselves, our teams, our drivers, and most importantly you the fans, who have supported us from the beginning.

To our Lexus enthusiasts, know that everything you loved about the Lexus racing community is still here and the Lexus RC F GT3 will be on full display as we cheer on our Vasser Sullivan teammates in the 2026 IMSA GTD Pro and GTD Championship. While our family has grown, the Lexus racing community remains at the heart of everything we do. You have always been part of this team, and that will never change.

To our GR family that has been following along or is just now joining us, welcome to a place where speed takes center stage. If you like things that go fast, you are in the right place. Whether it’s GT3, GT4, Formula Drift, production vehicles or more there is something here for you to enjoy.

We’re excited for this next chapter and to share it with our racing family makes it even better. We hope you will follow along and stay tuned as we drive full speed into the future with Gazoo Racing USA!

The Gazoo Racing USA Team

Like so many other great parts of Lexus’ legacy, may Lexus Racing RIP.

• Lexus trademarked “TZ 450e” and “TZ 550e” in July 2023, signaling development of a fully electric, three-row SUV
• The TZ is expected to mirror the Lexus TX and Toyota Grand Highlander relationship, this time built on the platform shared by the all-electric 2027 Toyota Highlander and Subaru Getaway
• The TZ 450e could produce 338 horsepower with 300+ miles of range, while the TZ 550e may target around 420 horsepower with a 95.8-kWh battery

In July 2023, Lexus quietly filed trademarks for two names that now make much more sense: TZ 450e and TZ 550e. After Toyota recently revealed the all-new, fully electric 2027 Highlander, those two trademarks suddenly look more significant. Here is what the evidence tells us, and what we think is coming.

Cracking the Code: What “TZ” Actually Means

Lexus naming conventions have never been arbitrary. The “Z” suffix in the Lexus lineup stands for zero emissions, a designation Lexus introduced with the RZ, its first dedicated battery-electric vehicle. Every Lexus bearing a “Z” in its name signals a fully electric powertrain. That part is not speculation – it is established Lexus nomenclature.

The “T” prefix is equally telling. When Lexus launched the TX in 2024, it established “T” as the letter for its large, three-row SUV family. The TX sits above the RX in the lineup and shares its platform, powertrains, and architecture with the Toyota Grand Highlander. It is a more premium take on the same underlying vehicle, dressed in Lexus design and loaded with extra performance and luxury options.

Put those two letters together and the message is unmistakable: the TZ is Lexus’s all-electric, three-row SUV. The same relationship the TX has with the Grand Highlander, the TZ will have with the new electric Highlander.

The TX and Grand Highlander Blueprint

To understand where Lexus is heading with the TZ, it helps to look at how the TX came to be. Lexus has a long tradition of building premium variants on top of Toyota platforms, and the TX and Grand Highlander represent the most recent and direct example of that approach. Both vehicles share TNGA-K platform underpinnings, both offer similar powertrain options ranging from naturally aspirated to hybrid, and both are assembled at the same plant in Princeton, Indiana.

The TZ will almost certainly follow the same playbook, this time anchored to the all-new 2027 Toyota Highlander, Toyota’s first three-row battery-electric vehicle for the U.S. market. Built on a modified TNGA-K platform engineered specifically to accommodate high-capacity battery packs, the new Highlander represents an ideal foundation from which Lexus can build a compelling electric three-row luxury SUV.

Two Powertrains, Two Personalities

The TZ 450e and TZ 550e trademarks point to a two-tier powertrain lineup, and we have a pretty good idea of what each will look like based on the vehicles sharing its platform.

The TZ 450e will likely be the volume seller. The 2027 Highlander AWD produces 338 combined system horsepower from a 95.8-kWh battery with dual electric motors and an estimated range of 320 miles. Those figures are a natural fit for the entry TZ, and the 450e designation mirrors the RZ 450e’s dual-motor AWD setup. Final numbers may vary, but “450e” is also quite similar to the new ES 500e’s 338 horsepower BEV setup, so it’s possible the TZ could have slighly less power, possibly in the range of 275 to 338.

The TZ 550e is where things get more interesting. The 2027 Subaru Getaway, revealed at the New York Auto Show this month, shares the same platform and the identical 95.8-kWh battery pack as the Highlander, yet Subaru stroked the battery tuning for an additional 82 horsepower and a 0 to 60 time of under five seconds. Whether this is a planned product difference between the Highlander and Getaway is unclear, but if Lexus has access to the same batteries, it’s possible the TZ 550e could also come packing 420 horsepower. Giving the TZ 550e a horsepower number north of 400 would also give it a clear relationship to the existing RZ 550e, creating a coherent and easy-to-understand EV hierarchy across the Lexus lineup.

How will it look?

In December 2021, Lexus released a series of electric concepts, one of which was the Electric Crossover Concept… and it looks suspiciously similar to the new Toyota Highlander. Look at the similarity in body panels and overall proportions:

2021 Lexus Electric Crossover Concept:

2027 Toyota Highlander:

We won’t know for sure until Lexus begins releasing teaser images and then the final production design, but with Lexus and Toyota’s recent streak of sharing more than just platforms, it’s plausible to expect that the 2021 Electric Crossover Concept might heavily influence the production design for the Lexus TZ, especially considering the relationship with the new Toyota Highlander.

Lexus TZ Debut

If the TX and Grand Highlander relationship is any guide, expect the TZ to arrive within a model year of the Highlander’s late 2026 on-sale date. That puts a potential reveal in mid-2026 and an on-sale date in 2027 as a reasonable working assumption. When it does arrive, the Lexus TZ will represent the brand’s most important electric vehicle launch yet: a three-row family SUV with genuine luxury credentials, real-world range, and the kind of powertrain breadth to satisfy both the efficiency-minded buyer and the performance-oriented one.

The clues have been there. Now, the pieces are finally falling into place… we just have to wait for Lexus to make it official.

Lexus has officially released pricing for the all-new 2026 ES, which arrives at dealerships this spring as the brand’s first-ever battery-electric luxury sedan. The eighth-generation ES is offered in three distinct models: the ES 350e, ES 500e, and the soon-to-follow ES 350h hybrid. All ride on a new multi-pathway platform shared across powertrain options.

The ES 350e serves as the entry point to the BEV lineup, powered by a single 221-hp front motor with front-wheel drive and a 307-mile EPA-estimated range on 19-inch wheels. Step up to the ES 500e and you get a second 118-hp motor at the rear axle, DIRECT4 all-wheel drive, 338 combined horsepower, and a 0-60 time of 5.1 seconds. Both BEV models share the same 74.7-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.

Pricing for the ES 350h hybrid has also been announced ahead of its arrival later this year.

2026 Lexus ES Pricing

Both BEV models come in Premium and Luxury trims, and each is generously equipped from the start. Premium trims include NuLuxe seating, a 14-inch Lexus Interface touchscreen, a 12.3-inch Multi-Information Display, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 10-speaker audio system, and Lexus Safety System+ 4.0 as standard.

Luxury trims step things up with semi-aniline leather, a 17-speaker 1,800-watt Mark Levinson sound system, LED-backlit bamboo door panel trim, Traffic Jam Assist, Lane Change Assist, soft-close doors, and a knee-level radiant heater.

A handful of packages and standalone options are available across both trims:

• Convenience Package: Digital rearview mirror, Intuitive Parking Assist, Rear Pedestrian Detection, Driver Monitor, and Front Cross-Traffic Alert (available on Premium; standard on Luxury)
• Cold Area Package: Windshield wiper de-icer, headlamp washers, and a front-seat radiant heater (heater on Premium only; already included on Luxury)
• 21-inch Wheel & Tire Package: Multi-spoke 21-inch wheels on the ES 350e; aero-spoke 21-inch wheels on the ES 500e (note: range drops to 292 miles on the 350e and 272 miles on the 500e with the larger wheels)
• Dual Wireless Chargers: Upgrades the single wireless charger to a dual front-seat setup (Luxury trim only)
• Executive Package: Available exclusively on the ES 350e Luxury, this package transforms the rear seat with a 4-way power-reclining passenger seat with deployable ottoman, a 2-way driver-side rear seat, heated and ventilated massaging outboard rear seats, plush headrests, multi-zone rear climate controls, and two additional USB-C ports

The Executive Package is a particularly noteworthy addition — it’s a first for the ES in North America and gives the sedan a genuinely business-class rear seat experience that should appeal to buyers cross-shopping European alternatives.

Every 2026 ES also includes charging essentials out of the box: a NACS charge port with a CCS adapter, an 11-kW onboard AC charger (approximately 7 hours for a full charge), and DC fast charging up to 150 kW (10–80% in about 28 minutes under ideal conditions). A three-year Drive Connect trial and five-year Service Connect trial are also bundled in.

The 2026 ES 350e is expected to arrive at dealerships in April. For full details, see the official press release.

Source: Lexus Pressroom

A new report from Best Car Japan indicates the next-generation Lexus IS may be a dramatic departure from what buyers have seen previously.

The Lexus IS has been one of the brand’s most enduring nameplates, but it’s also one of the most overdue for a full generational change. Originally launched in 2014, the current IS has soldiered on through a series of refreshes, most recently a significant facelift in for 2026 that brought minor updates to exterior styling and major improvements to the interior. No amount of nipping and tucking can substitute for a clean-sheet redesign, and according to Best Car, that redesign is coming in 2027 – and it’s going to be a big one.

The report suggests the next-generation IS will abandon internal combustion entirely, debuting exclusively as a battery electric vehicle. If accurate, this would mark one of the most dramatic transformations in the nameplate’s history.

The powertrain lineup is expected to include a single-motor rear-wheel-drive configuration alongside a dual-motor all-wheel-drive variant, with the latter targeting around 500 horsepower. Perhaps even more striking is the range target: Lexus is reportedly aiming for 1,000 kilometers – approximately 621 miles – on a single charge, a figure that would put the IS among the longest-range EVs on the market.

On the design front, expect the next IS to take clear cues from the LF-ZC concept that debuted at the Japan Mobility Show in 2023. That concept previewed a dramatic new design language for Lexus, and the recently revealed new ES has already adopted elements of it.

The IS, however, is expected to push that aesthetic even further with a lower hood line made possible by the absence of a traditional engine, and a sleeker, more aggressive silhouette overall. Projected dimensions of approximately 188.5 inches long, 74.0 inches wide, and 54.9 inches tall suggest a car that’s grown in footprint while staying properly low and sporting.

Technology is set to be just as forward-looking. Best Car reports the new IS will incorporate gigacasting construction, Lexus’ DIRECT4 torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive system, and Arene OS, Toyota’s software-defined vehicle platform, enabling over-the-air updates throughout the car’s life.

With the current IS having spent over a decade on sale, the timing feels right. The 2027 next-generation IS has a real opportunity to redefine what a Lexus sport sedan looks like in the electric age and if those range and power figures hold, it could make a compelling case for itself against an increasingly competitive luxury EV field.

Source: Best Car Japan

For Lexus fans, today’s reveal of the 2027 Mercedes-Benz S-Class might have made you recall that Lexus recently cancelled the LS sedan. The two were long time competitors and this is the first time in 36 years that there is no “Japanese S-Class” to do battle with the standard bearer from Stuttgart.

Seeing that the 2027 S-Class is a major refresh of the W223 2020+ model made me wonder what the LS would have looked like if Lexus took a similarly evolutionary approach instead of cancelling its flagship.

The good news? That already existed as the Lexus LS+ Concept.

The bad news? It was never produced.

Debuting shortly after the production LS 500 sedan, the LS+ Concept aimed to show what an LS from the not-so-distant-future might be like, namely with autonomous driving technologies. Looking at the body lines of the concept, it’s clear this is an evolution of the fifth generation LS with revised front and rear ends, and sharper lines.

Much of the technology from the LS+ Concept later came to market in the 2020 LS 500h with the “Lexus Teammate” level-2 semiautonomous driving technology. Unfortunately, the dramatic styling never made it to a later production LS.

With that in mind, let’s take a moment to remember and appreciate the LS+ Concept… and what could have been.

RIP Lexus LS sedan.