A luxury car manufacturer has announced it is retiring its flagship model from its UK range after 35 years. Across five generations, the Lexus LS was an innovator, from construction techniques and handling performance to electrified powertrains and advanced safety systems and sophisticated onboard luxury.
As the original Lexus, it was a genuine pioneer, "setting the standards for every Lexus model that has followed", the brand said as it announced the news. The LS was the model which launched the all-new Lexus brand - owned by Toyota - in the USA 1989, arriving in the UK the following year.
It marked the culmination of an unprecedented development programme that involved thousands of designers, engineers and technicians over a six-year period. This “Circle F” (for flagship) project was launched by the then Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda and led by the hugely experienced Ichiro Suzuki as chief engineer. The mission was to deliver the world’s finest luxury performance saloon: the “pursuit of perfection”.
Every element of the car, from its 4.0-litre quad-cam V8 engine to the look and feel of the leather used in the interior, underwent rigorous scrutiny from drawing board stage to numerous prototypes and millions of miles of road testing. This attention to detail and takumi craftsmanship have remained at the heart of Lexus ever since and are key to the delivery of the brand-defining omotenashi hospitality.
The principal goals were for this to be a vehicle that was fast yet efficient, quiet yet lightweight and elegant yet aerodynamic. The ambition was not simply for the LS to rival the best other manufacturers – principally European – could offer, it was to outperform them, Lexus said.
The results were revealed at the 1989 Detroit motor show ahead of a global launch in the summer. The response from the media and public alike was hugely positive and by the end of the year Lexus had reached its ambitious target of 16,000 sales in the United States.
It was the springboard for sustained success for the brand, which recorded one million vehicle sales in the US in just the next 10 years. In the UK the LS was Lexus’s sole model for the first three years of its market presence. Supported by a game-changing approach to quality and customer service, it succeeded in establishing the Lexus name, going on to sell more than 12,700 units during its lifetime.
The legacy of the LS can be found in every model in the Lexus range. It was the first to provide the radar and camera-based safety and driver assistance features that have since been adopted, extended and improved in the Lexus Safety System+ that is featured in Lexus vehicles.
The LS also introduced the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission and was the first car to benefit from laser welding techniques for significantly more rigid construction. It has also been a design leader, introducing Japanese aesthetics and applying traditional Japanese craftsmanship techniques to vehicle styling, both in the lines of the bodywork and the hand-finished interiors.
Lexus said: "In 1989, the Lexus flagship was a saloon in the best traditions. Time and tastes change, so the flagship of the current UK model range is the Lexus LM, a one-of-a-kind 'luxury mover'. Building on the heritage of the LS, it offers personalised luxury of the kind usually found in private jets: full-horizontal reclining seats, a precision-controlled cabin climate; and a fully integrated 48-inch ultra-widescreen monitor."
