Aiming high: Here’s what Lexus imagines lunar vehicles could look like

The possibility of mankind having a presence on the moon is closer than ever. Now that we’re even less likely to blow up on liftoff, it’s time to consider the important questions. Like how we’ll get around while we’re up there. Automaker Lexus has a few ideas, not just about the vehicles of the future but the space vehicles of the future.

Lexus and Toyota’s European Advanced Design Studio came up with a few ideas of how humanity might get around on the lunar surface, resulting in several concepts that look ripped straight from Star Wars, Mass Effect, and even Jurassic World.

Exploring the Cosmos

There are a few interesting designs. The Lexus Cosmos (pictured in the header above) looks like a high-tech squid and incorporates a lot of glass in its design — all the better to see space while you’re zipping about on the moon. The Lexus Moon Racer (directly above) is a high-speed take on a more traditional rover design, while there are riffs on Sphero’s Bolt, the Nolan Batmobile, a very high-speed hoverbike design called Zero Gravity that brings to mind Saint’s Row IV (really), and even something right out of Sony’s Wipeout series of games.

What’s the catch?

There is, always, a marketing angle with these things. In this case all of the designs — which you can see at the link below — incorporate at least some design elements from the company’s LF-30 Electrified Concept, first unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2019. The vehicle would feature gull-wing doors, gesture control and AR interfaces inside, among a raft of other high-tech features — like seats that conform to the person sitting in them. Even if you don’t get to the moon, the implication is, you’ll still have a space-age ride at your disposal.

Source: Lexus via Engadget