To say we were shocked by the 2021 Toyota Mirai is a bit of an understatement. What is currently a rather frumpy-looking sedan will soon become a stunning large luxury sedan. Not only does the redesigned Mirai sport fantastic styling inside and out, but it also rides on a rear-wheel-drive platform, the very same architecture that underpins the Lexus LS 500 flagship. Why the sudden and dramatic change? Turns out there were several reasons why.

Road & Track spoke to the Mirai's chief engineer, Yoshikazu Tanaka, at the LA Auto Show last month and he revealed there was a genuine technical reason for using this platform.