Lexus CT 200h: Supercharged CT 200h at New York

Lexus tuners Fox Marketing are preparing a supercharged Lexus CT 200h for Lexus to show at the New York Motor Show next month

We’ve constantly bemoaned that Lexus are so obsessed with hybrids that they’ve forgotten there’s a world of people who want more from a car than a mere transport appliance. Which is rather sad.

More than the rest of the range, we’ve complained that the Lexus CT 200h is lumbered with the 1.8 litre Atkinson cycle hybrid from the Prius as its only powertrain option. Which, in our opinion, sells the CT 200h short.

It sells it short because a small Lexus, in these constrained times, is a smart move. But a hybrid-only setup means keen drivers will struggle to get anything like the headline 70mpg from the CT 200h or anything like a buzz from the drive.

What’s needed is a nice turbo-diesel option – which already exists in the bigger Lexus IS – and a petrol lump with a decent turn of power. Which we may get after all.

Lexus has commissioned tuners Fox Marketing to prepare a wide-bodied, supercharged CT 200h for the New York Motor Show next month. Which is exactly what we were looking for when Lexus took their range of cosmetically pimped rides to SEMA last year.

So far all we know is that Fox Marketing are making the CT 200h look more butch and are bolting a Supercharger in. What the output will be and what effect it will have on performance and economy remains to be seen.

But count us very interested.