MIMS: Luxury with a clear conscience?
Lexus rolled out the world's only production hybrid upper-luxury car at MIMS... And gave away macro-biotic snacks to make the pointAre you a plutocrat with a conscience? A captain of industry with a yen for being frugal with emissions? Boy, has Lexus got the car for you...
While Land Rover is busy offsetting the carbon emissions of the production of its all-wheel drives, financing hydro-electric projects in Kazakhstan and wind farms in China, Lexus is busy building the world's only production hybrid upper-luxury car and selling it to the world.
While both initiatives seem equally ludicrous from where we sit, you can't fault the end product. At least in the case of the Lexus...
Looking every bit the long-wheelbase super-luxury limo, the LS600hL sits at the very top of the Lexus range. It is also the world's first petrol-electric V8 hybrid and according to Lexus, the "forerunner of a new breed of super-performance energy-efficient sedans."
The LS600hL is the most advanced car the company has built. It includes all the luxury and safety features you'd expect and then some. It even has a four-place ottoman seat option with shiatsu massage functions.
Lexus says the LS600hL combination of 5.0-litre V8 and hybrid electric drive delivers V12 power and V6 economy.
It will go on sale later this year but pricing has not been announced.
Also on display was the marque's conventionally-powered V8 luxury car, the LS460.
The 460 is famous for its world first eight-speed automatic gearbox (Benz has a seven-speeder, need we same more?) and is all-new with no carryovers from the previous model in the areas of chassis, suspension, engine or driveline.
The LS460 arrives in April.
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