At the New York auto show this morning, Lexus rolled out its 2016 RX, a bread-and-butter mid-sized crossover for the company that isn't particularly interesting to the auto enthusiasts in the crowd.
But this is a modern Lexus, which means the design language has to be completely bonkers. In this regard, the RX delivers.
In place of normal C- and D-pillars — the elements that connect the roof to the body toward the back of a car — there's a swoopy mix of metal, chrome, and glass. At a glance, the glass appears to flow uninterrupted from the side to the rear window, framed by a dagger-shaped thing dangling from the roofline. I haven't had a chance to form an opinion on it yet, but it definitely catches the eye.
It's an optical illusion
It's a bit of a magic trick, though: if you open the rear lid, you immediately notice that the pillars are still there — Lexus has just designed the glass to flow around them on the outside. The uninterrupted view around the back from inside the car is strictly an optical illusion, almost certainly for structural and safety reasons.
As a 2016 model, the RX will be available later this year, so you've got some time to decide whether you want to let this level of design insanity into your heart.
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