-
Lexus Lunar, by Yung Presciutti, is described thus: "Lexus Lunar is a massive transport vehicle designed to explore and discover the moon safely. The vehicle is divided into two parts: the bottom consists of a platform with 6 rugged wheels to give the freedom to go wherever you want. The upper part holds the living area. The two components of the vehicle can be also divided, with the upper portion detaching to create the start of a lunar colony."Lexus
-
The Lexus Moon Racer, also by Yung Presciutti, is my favorite of the concepts. I don't think it needs to be streamlined for an airless rock, though.Lexus
-
Keisuke Matsuno designed the Lexus Lunar Cruiser. The description reads "'Lunar Cruiser' is a multipurpose vehicle for land and sky use on the moon. It has large tires that provide comfortable movement even on rough lunar conditions and can turn 90 degrees to fly like a drone. These allow the driver to explore the lunar land and sky freely. The organically shaped cabin has a unique body graphic in the shape of a “3D spindle motion”, providing an open vision and comfortable interior space while having an iconic appearance." But I don't quite understand how the rotated tires are supposed to generate lift on an airless moon.Lexus
-
Karl Dujardin designed Zero Gravity. I think it wouldn't look out of place on Naboo; it has that elegant aesthetic to it.Lexus
-
The blurb from Lexus says the concept "represents the Lexus future through reinterpretation of the signature spindle form. For Zero Gravity, the spindle grille becomes a 3D spindle architecture, and sharp and square edges transform into fluid and curved surfaces, creating a mysterious design language. The motorcycle-style architecture enables a stronger connection to driver/pilot allowing for more direct control and feedback as human and machine mesh. With this model, the driver maintains total control while gliding smoothly over the rough, pitted and bumpy lunar surface, even at an estimated speed of 500 kilometers per hour."Lexus
-
More Zero Gravity detailsLexus
-
Are you hearing prog rock? I'm hearing prog rock.Lexus
-
Julien Marie's Bouncing Moon Roller. This one looks like it might be fun to roll across the moon's surface in.Lexus
-
Another Yung Presciutti design, this one's called the Lexus Lunar Mission.Lexus
-
Finally, there's Jean-Baptiste Henry's Lexus Cosmos.Lexus
-
Lexus says that it is "a transportation concept designed for both space and the lunar surface, the Lexus Cosmos features a fully sculpted glass shape that functions as a massive observatory to not only enjoy the view, but also explore the low gravity phenomenon. With a rear cockpit that emphasizes the driving feel and a front portion dedicated to contemplation, the idea was to create a new luxury and exclusive experience for the future.Lexus
-
I think this concept would be at home in an Iain M. Banks novel.Lexus
-
Passengers float inside the Lexus Cosmos.Lexus
-
The Lexus LF-30 is the brand's concept of a battery EV a decade from now.Lexus
I love a good concept car. And I'm pretty keen on space—Charlie Brown bears responsibility for getting me interested at a very early age. So obviously my interest was going to be piqued by an email from Lexus containing a bunch of design sketches from ED2, its European Advanced Design Studio thinking about what we might drive on the moon.
The designs—seven in total—were created by the design studio for an art and fashion publication called Document Journal, which invited a range of designers to imagine what life might be like on the moon. In Lexus' case, the inspiration was the company's recent LF-30 concept car; you may remember if from our coverage of last year's LA Auto Show."When Document Journal approached us about the Lunar Design Portfolio, our team was working on the LF-30 Concept, which represents the "Lexus Electrified" futuristic vision for Lexus. The design team was already looking beyond near-term production and ahead to how advanced technology will change the way we interact with vehicles," said Ian Cartabiano, President of ED2. "The lunar project came at the right time, half way through the LF-30 development. It gave the team a chance to dream further out, and then apply some of the design language from the LF- 30 interior to their lunar proposals."
The designs run the gamut from somewhat-normal wheeled vehicles to much less conventional designs. The six-wheeled Lexus Lunar is perhaps the easiest design I could imagine cruising around on the Sea of Tranquility and better integrates Lexus' hourglass-shaped grille than any of the OEM's current road cars. The Lexus Moon Racer and Lexus Lunar Cruiser are both four-wheeled cars; one a sleek pod with hexagonally faceted tires, the other is able to rotate its tires by 90 degrees "to fly like a drone," which is puzzling because of the wheels are meant to become lift rotors then surely that would require some sort of atmosphere to work.
Things start getting a little weirder with Zero Gravity, a hover bike that would not look out of place on Naboo. The Bouncing Moon Roller looks a bit like those pods from one of the recent Jurassic Park films, with a gyroscopic cell protected by a "flexible graphene nanotube-based bubble." Then there's the Lexus Lunar Mission, which is a flying vehicle that feels the most phoned-in, and finally the Lexus Cosmos, which might be most at home in the world(s) of Iain M. Banks.
Listing image by Lexus
reader comments
82