It’s a tricky time for sedans as carmakers like Ford and Volkswagen have announced clear intentions to ditch the likes of Mondeo and Passat in favor of more crossovers and SUVs.

Moving on to higher echelons with electrification in mind, the crosshairs switch from sedans to sports cars. The use of batteries and e-motors for high-performance cars is and will be a challenge until the technology evolves, but Lexus doesn’t seem to be bothered.

Speaking to Autocar, the carmaker’s brand management chief, Hiroo Togashi, made it clear that Lexus won’t back out of offering halo cars such as the LC 500.

As we said, all-electric sports cars are tricky. They’re plagued by the extra weight provided by the battery cells and electric motors which in turn affects range and energy consumption, not to mention dynamic abilities. Sure, they’re quick in a straight line but they can’t sustain high levels of speed for too long and don’t even think about taking one to the track, where overheating is always ready to pounce.

For the time being, a hybrid setup (plug-in or traditional) seems to offer a better alternative to going full EV by mixing the best of two worlds. It’s no surprise that carmakers like Porsche and recently Mercedes-AMG have found ways to implement electricity as part of their performance-oriented hybrid powertrains, a solution that also helps in keeping emissions in check.

Coming back to Lexus, the Japanese manufacturer has recently unveiled the LF-Z concept, which, while shaped and proportioned like a crossover, is showcasing the brand’s new Direct4 electrified all-wheel-drive setup. The system “uses the instant responsiveness of an electric motor’s driving force to freely control a vehicle’s four wheels for superior and highly flexible driving performance.”

In other words, the system will be capable of precisely adjusting the amount of torque that gets to each wheel, resulting in better handling, more road composure, and increased agility – pretty much the most wanted characteristics of a sports car.

Lexus is also adamant that by 2025 its lineup will be richer by 20 new models, including BEVs, PHEVs, and HEVs, so we should hear more on a future all-electric sports car in the near future, even though a launch might not happen right away.