Exclusive interview: Alex Shen – Lexus Calty chief designer

Car Design News caught up with Alex Shen, chief designer at Toyota’s Californian design studio Calty, for a convivial chat about whether Lexus’ design language is about to calm down a bit, the ditching of dodgy mice for infotainment screens and whether new battery tech will soon render an avalanche of big MPV-shaped electric cars unnecessary.

CDN: Lexus recently commissioned an installation for Miami Art Basel with NY-based architect Suchi Reddy – who (of course) used to drive a Saab – in a bid to reach more design-savvy, less car-enthusiast consumers. Do you think Lexus can fill the void for that type of ‘leftfield thinker’ ex-Saab customer? Or if not, what is the brand about now?

AS: Lexus is still focusing on the experience but pushing sophistication. When we went a little bit more ‘explosive’ in our design – in terms of being louder – that’s what the brand needed. But now we’re going back to our roots – very simple, elegant and beautiful. Simplicity is great and it’s in the Lexus DNA.

CDN: How will your ‘spindle’ grille develop or change in the EV era?

AS: Grilles are still iconic to a vehicle, so we’re trying to maintain that spindle strategy, but through changes to the single spindle body, with the form emanating from the front, rather than this strange-type opening, as there’s no radiator [behind it].

CDN: Where do you stand on such authenticity issues, including fake vents?

AS: We try to avoid fake stuff. As designers we don’t like it at all. When we design we have the intention to be authentic, but sometimes the design is based on the perception of something and once we get into testing we can find that a vent isn’t as good for aero as we originally thought, so [are engineers question] ‘what are you going to do now?’ So, we might have to decide to put sensors behind them. But if designers had their way, we wouldn’t do them.

CDN: When part of a product appears to be something it isn’t, it could make customers wonder what else isn’t real? Brands are built on trust, so maybe authenticity needs to be pushed harder, or change the aesthetic?

AS: Exactly. On our 2021 Lexus Electrified Sport Concept [which inspired Reddy’s 2022 ‘Shaped By Air’ Miami sculpture] there’s nothing extra on it that’s not necessary. The vents and aero bits are all needed and there’s nothing ‘style-y’ about the cabin, it’s just a bubble shape. We tried to show a lot of restraint. We’re not putting ‘make-up’ on it just to make it cool.

CDN: But aerodynamic shapes are not always aesthetically pleasing until refined by designers?

AS: There’s definitely a balance. You don’t want a designer to finish a car on their own or an engineer to do that either. It needs to be a collaboration, especially on a high-end vehicle like a Lexus. People who buy those brands don’t want to compromise.

CDN: Do you think Lexus engineers are better at design compromise now?

AS: Yes, they’re super-supportive and open to our suggestions. At high speed the car has to be stable though, you don’t want it to look good but not perform. There are some basic scientific formulas regarding aero, but we want to make something that people will hold on to and treasure.

CDN: Going from your ‘explosive’ design mentioned earlier to something simpler at a time when there are so many (new) brands out there, do you worry how Lexus stands out?

AS: It is hard to differentiate. Our biggest task with something simple is to make sure it’s distinctive, so people recognise our cars. I think we also went through a period where design was a bit vanilla, so we really put together an identity and now have something solid. A luxury brand is all about refinement, details and finish, especially close-up. We have a formula but we’re going to keep making it better.

CDN: Is that ‘formula’ based on new platforms that you didn’t always have?

That’s part of it. The EV platforms provide a bit bigger footprint, a wider stance and a longer wheelbase which helps, but our interior packages still have to have the right comfort.

CDN: I can only think of two truly original EV platform packages – by Lotus and Porsche – and large battery packs low down can create problems by having four more inches to house at the base of the car than before?

AS: There are challenges. How do you get the seat-point low? We’re always trying to play with the architecture and have great engineers and scientists on battery technology. How do we get things smaller but just as efficient, that’s the challenge. We don’t have to worry about big [tall] bonnets anymore though, that helps a lot, to gain a sloping hood.

CDN: You still have to consider pedestrian impact regulations though?

AS: Yes, but there’s not a metal engine [underneath] that your head’s going to smash into, so hoods can be a bit lower. But the rest of it is how we get our technology seamless, to meet customer expectations to a Lexus level.

CDN: Talking of which, getting rid of the funny computer-style mouse to work Lexus infotainment screens must have helped?

AS: We had a lot of discussions about that. Conceptually, it’s a cool safety feature as you’re not really playing with stuff [on a touchscreen] but as it turned out, it didn’t work as well as we liked. The idea was great. Maybe we didn’t have the technology needed at that time.

CDN: Timing can be an issue, as Chris Bangle once said about BMW’s iDrive.

AS: Sometimes you have to give it a go, to see if it works out. We tried something new when everyone else was using touch, that’s very Lexus. It meant we didn’t need to bring the screen so far forward, so there was good reasoning behind it. But we got good advice from our customers [that it didn’t work].

CDN: Do you see the return of large MPV shapes with new EV platforms?

AS: We can imagine all sorts of car shapes. There are proposals that spread the whole gamut of big platforms with long wheelbases and stuff like that. In the near future I think we will see more products that are a little more practical, but you’re talking about today’s technology. We’ll continue to minimise these things [battery size and package] and then they won’t be such a factor. Current EVs are big.