SPY PICS: 2017 Lexus LS limo
Fifth-generation Lexus LS taunts with more styling detailsThese are the clearest photos yet of the upcoming Lexus LS flagship replacement that is expected to be revealed for the first time at the Detroit motor show in January 2017.
Following our most recent set of Lexus LS spy photos, these snapshots show the next big Lexus in slightly less-disguised form and hinting at the final details of the front and rear ends, particularly the headlights, tail-lights and rear deck.
It appears the final shape should be close to that of the LF-FC limousine concept seen at the Tokyo motor show in October 2015.
Hints of styling features in the concept car, such as the guard protrusions flanking the bonnet, slitted LED headlights, a subtle boot spoiler and sci-fi nightmare grille are rife, although it looks likely the tail-light design will take a more conservative approach.
Word is that Lexus parent Toyota is shy about revealing details of the next-gen LS and its adoption of advanced semi-autonomous technology.
With that in mind, it’s expected the company will adopt a go-slow approach in which various autonomous elements, including a tight-traffic navigation capability, will appear well before the adoption of a fully-fledged self-driver.
One thing is for certain: The next-gen LS will be a lot bigger. At 5225mm long, 1900mm wide and with a wheelbase measuring in excess of 3000mm, it will roughly equate the S-Class Benz and will be a big stretch above the current LS which, in long-wheelbase form, measures 5090mm, 1875mm and 2970mm respectively.
The Lexus LS will build on a new platform, already seen in production in the LC model, that will be stronger, lighter and offer the handling benefits of a lower centre of gravity.
The first full-size Lexus, the LS430, arrived in Australia in 1990, and was followed by second-generation (1994) and third-generation (2000) models, then by the fourth-generation model in 2007.
That will make the current Lexus sedan flagship more than a decade old by the time of its successor's likely arrival in Australia some time in 2018.
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