Lexus LC500h

📸: Photo courtesy CarMagazine.co.uk

We have already written about this lovely car before, but we must revisit it as there's no way it can be omitted from the Hot Hybrid category. Truthfully, the Lexus LC may just be the loveliest car in this category, although we already know it's not the speediest.

📸: Photo courtesy Automobilemag.com

Equipped with an Atkinson cycle 3.5 liter V6, paired with a lithium-ion charged electric motor, the LC500h has a combined output of 354 horsepower. Even though this is the lowest output of the Hot Hybrids featured so far, it can still push the car to an electronically-limited top speed of 155 mph, faster than the (admittedly brick-shaped) 416 horsepower Porsche Cayenne hybrid.

📸: Photo courtesy MotorTrend.com

Perhaps the styling is not everyone's cup of tea, but here at The Design of Speed it is considered perhaps the prettiest of the new-age Japanese designs to date. And while the photos are very nice, in person the car is show-stopping. We're almost sorry Lexus didn't equip it with a monster engine, but that would be far out of character for the marque.