One of the readers of VWVortex has assembled quite wealth of information concerning the upcoming Lexus variant of the popular Prius. Below is a snippet of the details as his interprets it for you to enjoy:
Here are a months worth of scans from various magazines. Some of these scans go back to a little over a month; so sorry if some of them are a tad old - I've condensed it into a single post so I don't have to make a half-dozen different posts.
Lexus Prius/Hybrid
Source: MagX
- Prius using Toyota's MC platform has been seen testing with the Auris front noze
- Next Prius will be using the 1.8L 2ZR engine instead of 1NZ
- Lexus will have a version of the Prius which is planning on debuting during late 2010/early 2011
- The Lexus will have the roofline profile similar to that of the Prius however have distinct Lexus styling in sync with the "L-finesse" design language.
- The Lexus version would cost over $30k and obviously be equipped with luxury amenities; current internal code for the car is 812L
- Due to cost reasons the next-gen Prius should still be using NiCAD batteries. However, Toyota has had a Lithium-ion Vitz hybrid in limited production for awhile, and the Lexus version may be equipped with Li-On batteries due to the higher selling price would allow enough margin to incorporate the more expensive batteries.
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