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All-new Lexus LS Puts On Black Dress to Hide Sleek New Body
I'm surprised no one found these already and posted them.
Ignore the retro-flavored headlights and taillights since those are just temporary.
Saying the current LS is getting a bit long in the tooth is perhaps an understatement taking into account the fourth generation (XF40) has been around for a decade, with a couple of facelifts in-between. The good news is Lexus is putting the finishing touches on the all-new model which our spies have caught on camera once again.
It’s hard to say at this point whether the prototype had all the production body panels, but at least we know for sure those headlights (which look as if they were taken from an old Celica) are not final. It’s the same story with the tiny vertical taillights that obviously won’t make it on the production-ready car. The back is actually quite interesting since you can notice the real shape of the taillights behind the black wrap.
Lexus probably locked in the design a couple of years ago seeing as how at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show it brought an LF-FC concept serving as a sneak preview of its new flagship. The concept was molded after the production model’s design, so the LF-FC should be an accurate indication of what to expect from the real deal.
Power will come from the 5.0-liter V8 sourced from the LC 500 where it churns 467 horsepower (348 kilowatts) channeled to the wheels via a ten-speed automatic transmission. The aforementioned LF-FC had a “high-output” fuel cell all-wheel-drive setup, so we won’t be too surprised if the new LS (XF50) will get it as well. There’s also going to be a hybrid version that will likely have a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine, a four-speed automatic transmission, a lithium-ion battery pack, and a continuously variable transmission incorporating two electric motors as seen in the LC 500h.
Photos of the cabin are not available in this set, but we do know the next-gen LS will have “some cool interior stuff,” according to Lexus International Executive Vice President Mark Templin. That doesn’t sound very explicit, but Toyota’s premium marque has promised a jump in craftsmanship and technology.
Word on the street says Lexus will kick off production in Japan of its new crown jewel in May or June next year following an official reveal likely to occur in January at the North American International Auto Show. It will go on sale in the Land of the Rising Sun in the third quarter of 2017, while in United States it will be available towards the end of the year as 2018MY.
I think the latest pictures show the FC, which means that could indeed be the new LS, unless they disguised it to look like it to throw us off. Or, what we saw is the FC and maybe it's an entirely different car than the new LS?
Look at the shape and the rear windows. They are almost a spitting image. In fact, they are IMO.
That would be interesting if the FC is indeed the new LS. Going from concept to production that quickly is amazing.
Also, I distinctly remember seeing that weird indent in the rear of the first test mule, that looked nothing like the FC. It mirrors the indent on the FC.
Originally Posted by Rhambler
Yeah, I guessed incorrectly a while ago that the new LS will look anything like the FC just because of the concept release date versus actual proposed release (too short). If what is coming is indeed a slight derivation of the FC, it will be amazing.
I also noticed the windshield rake is less than the concept, which makes sense as lowering the rake increases overall interior volume, so, on brochures or what have you, they can say x cubic feet versus y. It's also a bit more realistic, so that's an expected, real-world change. The trunk, though, is another matter entirely. I can't tell nor do I remember if Lexus mentioned the FC as a hatchback like the A7? Looking at the photo of the rear of the FC is hard to determine although the proportions are certainly ripe for it.
In either case, the trunk seems smaller. A hatchback will increase the space slightly, at least in the vertical direction so again, they can say, hey, we have X cubic feet of trunk space. In either case, I just hope to god they put in a spare. A full-size spare to boot like what I have now. I can't stand MB and BMW's insistence on run flats and no spare. Please Lexus, DO NOT DO THIS. Run flats suck and having no spare sucks even more. I'm grateful I have a full-size spare.
So, I'm pretty much dead set on getting one when my lease is up. I just want a 467 HP engine or whatever magical turbo wonder they may stuff in there (V8 of course). I may either lease again or just buy and the only reason I may lease again is so that three years later I can buy into a more later build date. I'm eventually going to settle on a car that I can keep for ten years.
Of course, this could all be a ruse or another car entirely.
Not sure if you just corrected yourself, but there was no transition from concept to production.
I am certain that the 2018 LS itself was designed a little before the 2015 LF-FC Concept, which was barely being sketched during the fall of 2014 and barely in full-scale clay by that December.
Parallel to that, prototypes of the 5LS already in its final design were shown in private to select and/or executive audiences. It was over 2 years ago that final decision making on the body design was made circa summer 2014.
Showcasing a physical prototype with an interior in the UK, thousands of kilometers away from Nagoya HQ also suggests that it was designed well before that October 2014 showing.
Not even the production LFA got such treatment in the summer of 2008, when the design had just been freshly frozen ahead of its 2011 market launch. The LFA couldn't even be physically delivered to the venue of choice in the US for the 2008 showcase.
People at the dealer level in North America likely weren't shown the 5LS back then nor last year. Only Lexus executives I'd assume. Maybe this year's dealer meetings might be a different story.
Toyota usually does design the flagship LS rather well in advance of reveal, as the current generation's pre-facelift design (MY2007) was approved around December 2003 and MY2001 LS430 in December 1997. Look at when both debuted.
Spy shots are not really indicative of overall development and timeline, as this car has been rumoured to have entered development in 2010 and the first LS500 mules for the 200B programme have been reportedly running around Japan since 2012.
The current facelift (MY2013-17) was ordered by Akio Toyoda sometime between the summer of 2009 and early 2010, out of some level of frustration, which we will probably learn more about upon reveal next year.
During that time (2010) both the 950A LC500 and 200B 5LS were also ordered by Toyoda-san, as well as what became the GA-L architecture.
The LC coupe was already in development by September 2011 and LF-LC since May 2010, despite the official story that the concept's 2012 reveal got them to do a production model down the road.
Appreciate the detailed synopsis. I know you shared these thoughts before.
I'm just speculating based purely on what I see, that's it. I have no insider knowledge, just interpreting and guessing based on whatever tangible, if not anecdotal evidence that makes its way to the Internet.
You mentioned frustration that will be known when it's revealed? Why was he frustrated when he ordered the new gen to be designed?
Appreciate the detailed synopsis. I know you shared these thoughts before.
I'm just speculating based purely on what I see, that's it. I have no insider knowledge, just interpreting and guessing based on whatever tangible, if not anecdotal evidence that makes its way to the Internet.
You mentioned frustration that will be known when it's revealed? Why was he frustrated when he ordered the new gen to be designed?
Thanks, I understand such speculating, as it is very difficult to know what they are up to, when this is probably the most secretive project at Toyota, unless an LFA replacement is in the cards.
Toyoda is most likely responsible for the fact, that the LS has not been redesigned since 2006, likely out of frustration with early development from 2008-09 on the fifth generation, constrained R&D resources, and/or poor global economic outlook.
A much cheaper solution by 2010 was to develop a second 4LS facelift for late 2012, to facilitate a CY 2015-16 redesign (5LS).
Additional delays have further pushed back the 5LS to a 2017-2018 global launch, which might be partly due to the knockout S-Class redesign in 2013.
Toyoda was also frustrated with the current GS during development, almost postponing or canceling it altogether back in 2009-10 in not liking where things were going and poor sales of the 3GS.
This was during the period leading up to the recall crisis and him testifying in Washington, D.C.
Toyoda instead voted in 2010 to discontinue the SC430, postpone an immediate SC replacement (now LC) and next generation LS, while retaining the 4GS, which later arrived in early 2012.
Ironically the GS is the worst performing Lexus, so the future of the GS might even be uncertain.
I noticed they made some changes. The rear passenger windows are fake. The pillar is gone, which previously gave cues to the rear shape and instead it looks like they removed everything, the window(s) and pillar and taped on a fake window. It's obvious it's fake as the one on there can't roll down (look at the shape versus door size).
While it has cues of the FC, I think it really will look like that conceptual drawing someone shared earlier (see below). The front fender hump is a dead giveaway. Look at the rear passenger window on this as well. Same. Well, same before they changed it with a tape-on window.
In any case, I'm stoked. I want that big engine! Give it a spare and some fancy, tech-filled interior (with an instrument cluster that copies Audi for all I care) and I'll be happy and jumping into one December 15th 2018, on the button!
I noticed that as well. The test bed spotted earlier this year also didn't have an S550 in tow.
I'm curious why they left it out as it's obviously the sales volume leader of the class. Maybe they felt it was too stodgy and wanted to move to a "younger" buyer, which is typical of BMW and Audi, although the A8 is nothing to crow about regardless of age.
Or maybe they just gave up, considering the S550 has that ingrained pedigree that will always be there.
Or, and this is a big OR, and I'm reaching here, maybe they felt the current generation wasn't new enough to benchmark against.
You're probably right. That would explain a lot. The Merc was always that insulated tank. The 750i just felt like a ballooned-up 3 series (I drove in my friend's 2014 750 a lot). It handled well, but it doesn't have that same insulated vault-like feel of my car or the S550 I drove in.
Never drove in an A8.
I dont mind more "driving dynamics," but I love that vault-like, insulated library that is my LS. I don't mind floaty suspensions lol, and I'm not old at all, well, low 40s.
You're probably right. That would explain a lot. The Merc was always that insulated tank. The 750i just felt like a ballooned-up 3 series (I drove in my friend's 2014 750 a lot). It handled well, but it doesn't have that same insulated vault-like feel of my car or the S550 I drove in.
Never drove in an A8.
I dont mind more "driving dynamics," but I love that vault-like, insulated library that is my LS. I don't mind floaty suspensions lol, and I'm not old at all, well, low 40s.
08-14-16, 06:15 PM
All-new Lexus LS Puts On Black Dress to Hide Sleek New Body
