Lexus RZ F trademarked in Australia and Europe: Hero EV coming?

February 2024: Is a Lexus RZ F electric hero heading our way?

Following last year's reveal of its RZ 'Sport' concept at the Monterey car show, Lexus may have just confirmed plans for a performance flagship.

Firstly, though, let's stem any overly enthusiastic speculation: trademarking a model name is usually described by brands as a common step in protecting its rights to a badge, and not necessarily indicative of actual product plans.

Nonetheless, Lexus has made no secret of its plan to deliver compelling performance models in its future EV line-up.

That plan could kick off with the electric RZ SUV, but given it's built on a 400V electrical architecture rather than 800V, it isn't the most ideal candidate for a performance focus.

Context: The former head of Hyundai's N division, Albert Biermann, has said a number of times that 400V is not suited to EVs that can't run as efficiently or charge as quickly as those with an 800V system. That's why the first electric N car is based on the 800V Ioniq 5, and Porsche's Taycan is likewise an 800V design.

Lexus has confirmed it has an 800V system ready for future models, although it will reportedly keep it exclusively for models with battery packs larger than 100kWh. [↗]

We could, however, see a sporty-enough model come out of Lexus's new F Performance tier, recently introduced between the F Sport and full F grades.

Beyond that, buyers can likely expect 'proper' F models to feature in the anticipated production versions of last year's LF-ZC and LF-ZL concepts.

When it comes to performance in the Lexus range, that badge often comes with a few asterisks to caveat its plans, intentions and capabilities. So, watch for more on future F*** models to come in the months – or years – ahead.

August 2023: Lexus RZ 'Sport' concept bound for Monterey show

Later this week, Lexus will debut a racey new show car dubbed the RZ Sport Concept, based on the newly launched RZ electric SUV.

It appears to be a style-first concept, however, with the existing RZ 450e's standard 150kW motors on board (one at each axle), and no word of any performance enhancing plugs from the engineering team.

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That more-or-less puts paid to the notion that this concept might hint at a more rapid RZ F hero model, although the company has said it's planning more 'F Sport Performance' variants.

Think of those as the sub-halo BMW M Performance models of the Lexus world. There's already an RX F Sport Performance model, but it's not yet clear if we can expect similar enhancements for the electric RZ.

Are you into the RZ Sport Concept, or is it a bit on the 'boy racer' side..?

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Above: The RZ electric SUV in its regular form. Click the photo for more images.