DETROIT — After taking a tumble in 2011, Lexus is gearing up for a big year with nine new or updated products that it hopes will deliver a 21 percent sales surge and put the brand back in the hunt for the U.S. luxury sales crown.

Toyota Motor Corp.’s top-shelf brand is also eyeing an expanded lineup that could include a car-based, seven-seat people mover and fresh variants of its CT entry-level hatchback, as well as a sporty coupe drawing from the Lexus LF-LC hybrid concept unveiled at the Detroit auto show.

A phaseout of the low-end, slow-selling HS dedicated hybrid also could be down the road. And the brand gradually will shift from body-on-frame trucks to unibodies.

But one thing Lexus won’t do is dip down-market into smaller segments.

Top executives who outlined the strategy to Automotive News say the goal is to enliven the brand, make it sportier and infuse it with emotion. Lexus surrendered its 11-year reign as the best-selling luxury brand in the United States last year. Japan’s March 11 earthquake hurt sales by constraining production. But executives concede their traditionally staid lineup needs more allure.

Lexus is targeting a 21 percent sales increase in 2012, said Mark Templin, Lexus general manager. That would push U.S. sales to around 240,000 units, from 198,552 in 2011.

“We will grow more than any other luxury brand this year,” Templin said on the sidelines of the show. “Our base plan is 240,000. But we think we can exceed that by a pretty good margin.”