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quarter panel

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Rear View

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Front Side

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Also notice the glass seems to go from front to back :-)

looknow12

One thing is for sure, if this is the basic wheel base, stance and tires, I think it is safe to say Lexus has improved the handling.

Letsride

You know these LF-S sightings are almost a daily occurence now!! Just FYI this is not the new GS, check the Car chat section.....

looknow12

Any particular post?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

This one. If you read it top to bottom you'll see it's a conglomeration of several posts about the LF-S, most featuring exactly the same pictures. As the same pictures are posted, I merge them here out of courtesy to our members

LexFather

Taken from my main man Gavrlil over at Acura-cl.com.

TOKYO 2003: Lexus finally gets a design of its own

By Mark Rechtin
Automotive News / October 27, 2003

TOKYO -- Nearly 15 years after its creation, Lexus is getting its own design signature.

Toyota Motor Corp. last week unveiled two concept vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show that epitomize the future of the Lexus look. The new design philosophy, called "L-Finesse," embodies what Toyota calls "incisive simplicity, intriguing elegance and seamless anticipation."

The new language "is the first real examination of where Lexus design is going," said Simon Humphries, project manager for Toyota and Lexus at Toyota's Tokyo design center.

Lexus has been criticized for copying established German design or for warming over the look of some Japan-market Toyotas. But Dezi Nagaya, general manager of the Lexus brand planning department in Tokyo, said the new face of Lexus reflects the "beauty of contrast" that is implicit in Japanese design.

The hood of the LF-S sedan concept unveiled here is serene and unmarred. It gives way to sharply creased broad shoulders, with changing convex and concave surfaces as the sheet metal plunges toward the pavement.

The roofline sweeps back dramatically, but the rear window cut kinks sharply and dramatically. The greenhouse is narrow, but the cabin is surprisingly roomy.

"I don't want a boxy look that shows the car has room," said Nagaya, who also penned the current-generation GS 430. "If we can provide room with good styling, that's an engineering trick that will astonish and delight customers."

A bit of BMW

AutoPacific analyst Jim Hall and some other showgoers said the sedan is not nearly as original as Lexus might want people to believe.

Hall called the rear window kink and the cut of the rear door rip-offs of generations of BMW sedans. He added that the overall design language is similar to what Walter de' Silva is doing at Alfa Romeo.

"It's showing a direction for Lexus, which is pretty damn important," Hall said. "It doesn't look dumpy. It's high style. But they've also used the two most noticeable design cues of BMW."

Akihiko Saito, Toyota executive vice president in charge of design, engineering and product development, said Lexus needs its own design language to separate it from the Toyota brand and to help position it as a global premium brand.

A reflection of Japan

"It is not consistent for Lexus to have a European or American style of design," Saito said. "It loses the personality of a car made by a Japanese manufacturer. A Lexus needs to reflect the traditional culture and history of Japan."

The LF-S being shown here is a concept version of the next GS 430, although sources say the show car is quite close to the production version.

The LF-X, first seen at the New York auto show as the HPX, is a crossover concept vehicle that carries many of the same cues as the sedan. It could be an addition to the lineup above the RX 330, sources said.


The Lexus LF-X concept, shown at the New York auto show as the HPX, could join the lineup above the RX 330. PHOTO: JIM FETS
Although the two vehicles share some family resemblance, Nagaya cautions against too much consistency in the new Lexus design.

"We have to manage our design synergy and manage our models individually," Nagaya said. "We are searching for what measures should be kept. We don't want to make small, medium and large sausages like BMW or Audi. But there does need to be some resemblance, and we don't have that right now."

Nagaya said another major styling cue of "L-Finesse" design is a grille situated on a lower plane than the headlights.

A straight horizontal fascia is a key component of what Nagaya called "majestic" Germanic luxury design, but he said the lower Lexus grille is "more honest." It also provides engineering efficiency with a lower coefficient of drag due to better airflow, Nagaya said.

Critics speak out

Some rival auto executives were not so quick to give Lexus credit for a new look.

Patrick Pelata, Nissan Motor Co.'s product czar, called it a "very sleek design," but added, "It's just a show car, and the proportions can't be done."

Volvo Car Corp. CEO Hans-Olov Olsson accused Lexus of copying the broad shoulders and tapered-tail look of the S60 and S80 sedans.

Regardless of what the critics say, this is the new face of Lexus, and it's here to stay well past the end of the decade. What it stands for will have longer legs than that.

Said Nagaya: "We need a forever philosophy, not just a design language."


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LEXUS LF-S

What it is: Luxury sports sedan
Engine: V-8 gas-electric hybrid
Who designed it: Toyota's Tokyo design studio
What's cool: This is the starting point for future Lexus design. A much different take on luxury.
Will it be built: This is the new GS 430, mildly overstated. It will be a bit taller, with slightly muted cues, but otherwise this is it. It is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in February 2005.
Show reaction: Admiration from some, disbelief from others that Lexus turned out this vehicle. Two Nissan execs looked more than a little worried when told this is an accurate depiction of a production car.

Staff Reporter James B. Treece contributed to this repory

Captain Bone

I don't know wether to be happy or sad.

I like the LS-F but there is just something that says "no" to me. I think it needs a few more defining lines.

Hopefully it will get the lines it needs and the old SC wil be brought back. If either of those occur, I will kiss Sick's feet and buy a PW SC.



-Anthony

GSTRANCE

I agree with Cptn. It will be interesting to see the production version of the LF-S as the new GS430.I am trying to picture it a little taller like they said the production version would be. Time will tell.

Hameed

I love this concept car and the fact that it will be the next version of the GS is music to my ears!!! I can't wait to see the final production version.

Skinny

I Love the LF-S!!!! I think it's great that Lexus is finally going to design their own personal style, instead of taking some cues from Benz, BMW, etc. and fusing them together. Obviously the real GS is going to look a lot different due to the addition of mirrors, smaller wheels, taller height, more realistic proportions, but if the GS keeps the basic front and rear look of the LF-S, I think it will be a winner.

LexFather

Well it looks hella futuristic. Though I am sad to lose the quad lamps front and rear. At least the knock-off ALtima and Maxima won't look nothing like it.

gr8330