...and as a true Flagship vehicle of a luxury brand, a hydrogen-powered fuel cell vehicle (that no other luxury brand offers right now, not Mercedes-Benz, not BMW, not Audi) would be the only way to hold that flag high.

In comparison, a natural gas-powered car is so plebeian. Honda offers a natural gas Civic. You think Lexus wants its potential customers to be reminded of a Honda Civic every time someone sees a natural gas LS?

 

a hydrogen LS would sell in numbers you can count on your fingers.

 

thats not the point - point is that it will be cool high tech vehicle... thats what we all say Lexus needs - more special models that might not sell that much but raise brand awareness.

 

well "we all" doesn't include me. i'd rather they have cool vehicles that sell in decent numbers.

the LS600hL is a great example. an amazing boatload of technology, that doesn't sell because the real world result isn't as compelling as the specs.

the LFA is another example. stunning car, but the stratospheric cost and 500 units for the planet means most people have never even seen one let alone have any interest.

lexus would be far better served with a new IS-F, get the GS-F actually shipping, and if they want a hydrogen vehicle, fine, add one (hopefully less hideous than the mirai) but don't make an LS one just because they can, that will do NOTHING for the brand. i could imagine dealers who would NEVER stock one, ever.

 

LFA did a lot for a brand... As to GS-F, few months is not too long of a wait. LS600h sold a lot first few years and also did a lot for a brand at that time.

So will this LS FC.

 

One mentions this many, many times and it becomes exhausting. Bad journalism primarily makes for the term "mule" being mistakenly used to refer production-design representative test vehicles, which I prefer to just call "prototypes".

The final LS design as a camouflaged prototype is not something that will be seen, until at least later in the summer or this fall. Knowing them, fibreglass shells of the design on the new platform can be testing privately without onlookers.

 

The article mistakenly said that the "LS500" has been trademarked, which it has NOT been. I am the only person so far to directly hint to an incoming LS500 trademark. Only LC500 for the LC coupe and LS500h have been trademarked so far. LS300 is a possibility, if not LS300t or LS400 for the 3.0L twin-turbo 6-cylinder.

 

Given the recent leak of the refreshed LX, I want to revisit this topic. If you remember the Japanese mag had this render of the refreshed LX:



As can be seen clearly from the above, it was an illustration, based on an existing photograph. However much of the basic graphic design was based in reality, just not as precisely executed as the real thing:



We had a similar leak with the Lexus RX, note the backgroud images are dead on, and an illustration that seems to be based on them:



So where does that leave the LS?

So far the best LS "rendering leak" we've seen is this:



The larger rendering of the blue car is clearly a guess-based illustration. But what about the image in the top left corner?



Can anyone confirm if this is a photoshop?

Could that be a leak of the actual LS, from internal material that details its fuel cell powertrain? The side profile graphics of the larger rendering of the blue car mimic those of the silver car (down to the wheels), it could be that the artist is basing his rendering on a leaked image of only the side profile. He seems to be guessing the front end graphics from what he can see in the side profile as well.

Here is the front end zoomed in:



And the artist rendering:



Here is the image compared to the existing LS:



The biggest difference is the more steeply raked C-pillar, for a more fast-back roofline. This has been a consistent rumour for the next LS. The new door handles appear similar to those on the Tesla Model S, which may end up being reality as well considering Lexus may want to position the fuel cell version to compete with the Model S. There are also some Mirai influences in the lower rear door graphics, which is also entirely possible.

Length seems to be about the same, wheelbase appears marginally longer on the new car. This is supported by the mule images, note the extensions made to the rockers at the base of the car, (though this is a mule of the LWB version of the car versus the SWB version in the images above):



So I guess the question is, are we looking at an actual image of the side profile of the 2017 Lexus LS:



Also to touch on the interior, I think there will be heavy inspiration from the LF-LC concept:



Maybe not all the LCDs, but the stitching on the door panels, seats, etc...

 

Beautiful write up and observation. Great post.

 

Kudos Mr. Burns. Love the summary and all the pics. I'm liking the "fastback" rear and overall predicted rendering. From past sketches and their accuracy of the RX and LX, this leak is very possible and I'm excited to see the fuel cell.

 

Really good post Mr. Burns, I hope somebody can get that on the OP of this thread, good content always gets lost in the thread and people rarely see it.

 

interior needs to be opulent and avant-garde at the same time.

 

That same Japanese mag had these dimensions listed:



The current LS dimensions vs. the new LS as per Lexus Japan, mm (inches):

Current, mm (inches):
Height: 1480 (58.1)
Width: 1875 (73.8)
Wheelbase: 2970 (116.9)
Length: 5090 (200)
Weight: 2110 kg (4651 lbs)

Speculated New, mm (inches):
Height: 1500 (59)
Width: 1900 (74.8)
Wheelbase: 2970 (116.9)
Length: 5100 (200.7)
Weight: 2100 kg (4629 lbs)

Based on these dimensions the new LS would have the same wheelbase, be an inch taller, an inch wider, and just under an inch longer.

They list the weight at 2100 kg, which I assume is for the fuel cell version. This is about the same as the weight of the existing gasoline powered LS460.

There is also power output listed. The Mirai's fuel cell is listed at generating 155 HP, the next LS is listed above at 201 HP.

The electrical traction motor is listed at 154 HP for the Mirai, 295 HP for the next LS.

The range is at 660 Km (410 miles) for the Mirai, 384 Km (238 miles) for the LS. The Tesla Model S can do 426 km (265 miles). Not sure where they got this info or how accurate it is but they do call it a "scoop".

 

^ got kg and lb. reversed ?

 

lol thanks, fixed.