Lexus goes off the beaten track. Literally and figuratively, because in the press conference of the unveiling of the LX 600, the Japanese took the opportunity to unveil a special concept car: the ROV.
ROV is an abbreviation for ‘Recreational Off-highway Vehicle’. The luxury brand of Toyota is therefore taking a rather special course, because an off-road buggy is not a vehicle that you would directly associate with the image of Lexus. The brand has not yet publicized the ROV outside the press conference. Via the website carscoops.com we found out about the model’s existence.
Lexus ROV
As far as the design is concerned, the LED lighting in particular stands out. It’s that the Lexus logos are on it, otherwise it would have become quite difficult to make the link with Lexus. The matte bronze color is another unique aspect of the ROV. The buggy also has an LED bar on the roof and large off-road tires. At the rear is a centrally placed exhaust pipe.
Lexus does not show the interior, but it is noticeable that behind the wheel are two large paddle shifters. That is immediately a nice bridge to the powertrain. The aforementioned exhaust pipe already gave it away a bit: the ROV has an internal combustion engine. That is a special block, because it concerns the 1.6-liter three-cylinder hydrogen-powered Toyota. Lexus does not release specifications. In the Toyota GR Yaris, the same petrol block produces 261 hp, it remains to be seen whether the conversion to hydrogen changes anything to that power. Another difference compared to the Yaris is the switch to an automatic gearbox, which the flippers hint at. Lexus doesn’t release anything about that either.
Further plans?
Lexus wants to enable CO2-neutral off-roading with the ROV, says ‘general manager brand management’ Hiroo Togashi in the video. He also mentions the sound as an important plus, but that can not be heard in the press conference. However, the ROV can be seen in action on moving images. What exactly Lexus wants with the off-road buggy is not entirely clear. As far as we know, there are no production plans.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl