Lexus LBX

FIRST DRIVE With Lexus’s F brand on hiatus, the LBX Morizo RR previews the company’s future performance models

- Jordan Katsianis

AEX LEXUS has an interesting relationship with high-performance cars. The F brand, which started with a legion of V8-powered rear-drive saloons such as the IS F and GS F, quickly gave rise to the LFA-one of the most revered supercars of the past two decades. But since then the F brand has been largely left to stagnate, and judging from the new LBX Morizo RR, that seems set to continue.

But all is not lost, because the Morizo moniker also happens to be the alter-ego of Toyota's inspirational, car-loving chairman Akio Toyoda - he races under the name Morizo Kinishita - and signals that while F will remain in the dark (for now), this LBX Morizo RR might be something quite special.

This is reinforced the moment you hear the spec, because this B-segment SUV packs an impressive 296bhp and 400Nm of torque, which is generated by the same brilliant three-cylinder turbocharged engine that is found in the Toyota GR Yaris.