Lexus has revealed its small-car concept, the LF-SA, at the Geneva Motor Show.
Tiny but aggressive looking, the LF-SA is the first step on Lexus' path to creating a rival to the MINI and Audi A1. It's much smaller than we had thought, apparently using the under structure of the Toyota iQ city car and not the Yaris as we had been expecting. Inside, the drivers' seat is fixed in position (the wheel and peals adjust to suit) while the back seats are firmly in the '+2' category rather than being proper, full-sized seats. Most of the instrumentation is taken care of by a wide-angle holographic heads-up display.
The dramatic styling starts with the big 'spindle grille', which leans back into the front wings. It's unlikely that a production model would look as outrageous as this, but Lexus has been known to shock us with the show car before producing a much more acceptable real model before. Remember the prototype NX SUV?
At just 3.5 metres long, the LF-SA is exceptionally small by the standards of its production rivals, so expect it to grow significantly before it reaches production. As much as it is a concept version of a new small Lexus, it's also been created by Lexus' ED2 French-based design studio to mark the 25th anniversary of the original Lexus LS400 saloon.