For many, the electric car is the quintessential executioner of sensations behind the wheel, revealing a rather aseptic automotive future. However, the people of Lexus want to change the rules of the game after working on a manual gearbox… for electric cars.
Yes, you read it right, petrolhead. The Japanese firm has not only confirmed a successor to the fully electric Lexus LFA that will equip a manual gearbox that will be operated with a clutch pedal, but is already testing it. And it is that although at the moment Lexus has not given too many details about its operation, It has already been seen in action.
The electric cars of tomorrow will have manual transmission
But the first tests have not been on the LFA replacement, but in a much more humble UX 300e, the 100% electric variant of the Japanese SUV. In this we quickly see what attracts the most attention, a gear knob that activates the manual gearbox and an external box that acts as a tachometer.
To this we must add an artificial sound of engine revolutions and “mechanical”, and I quote it because it is not about the use of a mechanical system with a clutch, but rather software that will allow the driver to manage the overwhelming power of the electric motor that will equip the substitute for the LFA, a car that will be capable of doing 0 to 100 in less than 2 seconds.
But not only to manage this one, but that of other electric models of the brand. After all, we are dealing with a system that, although artificial in this case, has already been seen in other cases such as the Porsche Taycan, which has a two-speed gearbox. But Lexus intends not only to go further with the delivery of power and management in an electric, but also by applying in this an element that was considered extinct in the most immediate future.
