Lexus Brings Its $64,050 TZ Electric SUV to New York's Armory Show
Lexus's first three-row EV, now fully priced, shares an art-fair stand with the electric ES sedan and live drawing by artist-in-residence Alex Alpert.
Lexus is using one of New York's biggest art fairs as a showroom for its two newest electric models. The all-new TZ three-row SUV and the battery-electric ES sedan anchor an installation the brand opens at The Armory Show, which runs September 24–27 at the Javits Center.
The timing says more than the artwork does. Lexus added full grade pricing for the TZ on September 14, and the SUV is due at dealers before the end of the year. For a model buyers can already spec online, an art fair full of well-heeled New Yorkers makes a useful pre-launch stage.
Titled "Where Art Meets Energy," the space is built around New York illustrator Alex Alpert, the brand's current artist-in-residence. According to Lexus, parts of his line drawings on the walls are designed to light up as the lighting shifts. Alpert will also draw live on site, so the graphics grow over the four days.
After dark, the stand switches to an evening program Lexus calls "Lexus After Dark," with the cars lit as the centerpiece of a quieter, gallery-style room. Guests get a drink that changes color when citrus is squeezed into it and a pocket sketchbook of Alpert's work whose final pages are left blank on purpose.
New York is the latest stop in a year-long partnership that began at EXPO Chicago in April, where Alpert covered a white IS 350 in black line art. Lexus said then that he would also appear at NYCxDesign and Art Basel.
The TZ is the more consequential car on the floor. It's the brand's first three-row EV, with a choice of 76.96-kWh or 95.82-kWh batteries, standard all-wheel drive, and a NACS charging port. Lexus quotes up to 300 miles of range for select grades, though that's still a manufacturer estimate rather than an EPA rating.
According to Lexus's official pricing, the TZ starts at $64,050 for the Premium, then climbs to $72,050 for the Premium Touring and $80,550 for the Luxury. All three prices include a $1,550 destination fee. That lands the TZ in a crowded class with the Hyundai Ioniq 9, Kia EV9, Rivian R1S, and Volvo EX90. Underneath, it shares its platform with the new Toyota Highlander and Subaru Getaway.
The ES, now in its eighth generation, added its first battery-electric versions this spring. The front-drive ES 350e carries an EPA-estimated 307 miles of range, while the dual-motor ES 500e is rated at 276 miles, both on 19-inch wheels.
Lexus hasn't said whether the TZ on display is a production-spec vehicle, or whether the evening program is open to all fairgoers or by invitation only.
