Lexus hosts a performance driving school out at the Laguna Seca race track in Monterey, California, as well as other tracks across the nation.
You can drive anything from a Lexus IS 500 to an RC F to the LC 500. Lexus will also give you a unique way to show others what you're capable of on track with a new NFT.
Following completion of the event, participants are given an NFT to "showcase each individual's performance in class and video footage from their time behind the wheel." Lexus has already started handing them out, with 130 of August's participants getting their NFT certificates already. We're able to bring you a look at these impossible-to-fudge tokens thanks to Lexus, which had images for us to right-click on and download.
As you can see, each includes neat bits of data about your time at Laguna Seca in the latest Lexus IS or your chosen model. Personalized footage, event details, and vehicle data are supplied by Toyota Connected and rendered on the Polygon blockchain platform.
Lexus VP of Marketing, Vinay Shahani, explains the choice better than we can: "Instead of a curated timeline of retouched photos, the NFT offers an authentic and truly unique way to share one's on-track accomplishments and opens the door to attend and participate in exclusive Lexus events in the future."
Data stored on the NFTs includes stats like average speed, max Gs achieved, lap times, and "many others." Lexus doesn't say what "wheel spin" means in the NFT below, but we imagine it means something like how fast the wheels were spinning during the pictured donut. Lexus' on-site film crews capture all footage, and all footage is included with the tokens.
Lexus says this is a pilot program and is working on something else with these NFTs. The brand may use the tokens for access to motorsports-related events or "brand engagement opportunities," as well as additional value at later Lexus driving school dates, which presumably means discounts, including the brand's more hardcore Masterclass course.
Apparently, the take rate on these NFTs is pretty solid. The Japanese brand has said that more than 75% of a weekend's participants registered to get the NFTS, with more than 60 guests minting them in the days following the event. We'd be curious to see how many continue to register over more than just one weekend.
