Tag Archives: Lexus

CONCEPT CARS

Lexus LS Concept: The Six-Wheeled Future of Luxury Mobility

If you thought Lexus was content to let its LS flagship quietly fade into the background of an SUV-saturated world, think again. The Japanese luxury brand just detonated a conceptual bombshell at the Tokyo Motor Show: a six-wheeled, all-electric MPV that redefines what “luxury car” even means. Officially dubbed the Lexus LS Concept, it’s less a limousine and more a mobile private sanctuary—a statement of intent that luxury, in Lexus’s eyes, has evolved beyond leather, wood, and horsepower.

A Private Sanctuary on Six Wheels

Lexus calls the LS Concept “a private sanctuary that invites you to discover your own space.” It’s a poetic way of saying this is the most radical shift in the brand’s 35-year history. The exterior looks like it belongs in a sci-fi movie—sleek, sculptural, and sitting on three axles, with smaller wheels tucked neatly under the rear to maximize interior room. The proportions are pure concept-car theater, but there’s real intent beneath the drama.

The six-wheel layout isn’t just for show. Lexus says the configuration frees up floor space for a cabin that’s more penthouse suite than passenger compartment. And judging by the first images, the LS delivers on that promise. Behind a grand, sliding door—what design boss Ian Cartabiano calls “the starting point of the concept’s conception”—lies a cavernous four-seat lounge lined with opulent materials, ambient lighting, and digital interfaces that ooze futuristic calm.

From Luxury Saloon to Luxury Space

The LS nameplate has long stood for “Luxury Saloon,” a symbol of Lexus’s original challenge to the European establishment. But the brand admits that world no longer exists. “Executive sedans used to rule the world,” says Cartabiano. “Now they’re fighting a losing battle with SUVs.”

So Lexus has redefined the initials: LS now means Luxury Space. It’s a philosophical pivot as much as a practical one, representing a brand that’s unshackled from tradition and intent on reshaping the luxury landscape for a new generation of buyers—especially in China, where demand for high-end MPVs is exploding.

A Bold New Lexus Identity

Simon Humphries, Toyota and Lexus’s global design chief, says the company’s creative freedom has expanded dramatically since Toyota spun off its Century nameplate into a standalone ultra-luxury brand. That move frees Lexus to explore more radical ideas like the six-wheeled LS. “We want to challenge your perception of what a luxury brand can be,” Humphries explains. The new motto—To Discover—underscores that mission.

And discover, it does. The driver’s seat looks more spaceship than chauffeur spec: a yoke steering controller, a sweeping digital dashboard, and tactile mechanical buttons that blend analog charm with next-gen minimalism. Lexus hasn’t released powertrain details, but all signs point to a version of Toyota’s E-TNGA modular EV platform, potentially shared with the upcoming Lexus RZ and other electric flagships.

The Future of Lexus: One Name, Many Faces

The LS Concept didn’t arrive alone. It shared the Tokyo stage with two more experiments in Lexus futurism: a LS Coupé SUV that channels the Porsche Cayenne’s athletic stance, and a Micro LS city pod that distills the brand’s luxury ethos into a single seat. Together, they preview a family of vehicles built not around segments—but around experiences.

Humphries sums it up best: “Lexus has always been about more than just four wheels.” That’s not marketing fluff anymore—it’s literal. The LS Concept’s six-wheeled silhouette marks the moment Lexus officially stepped beyond the bounds of traditional automotive thinking.

Our Take

Is the six-wheeled LS Concept destined for production? Probably not in this exact form. But that’s hardly the point. This is Lexus flexing its design and philosophical muscles—an exploration of how luxury mobility could look when function, technology, and serenity merge.

In a world where ultra-luxury SUVs and electric hyper-saloons are beginning to blur together, Lexus just redrew the map. And with six wheels on the ground, it’s rolling confidently toward a future where luxury is measured not in speed or badges—but in space, freedom, and imagination.

Source: Lexus

CONCEPT CARS

Lexus LS Coupé Concept: The Return of Luxury with a Twist

At the Tokyo motor show, Lexus pulled the wraps off a concept that feels at once familiar and daringly different — the new LS Coupé Concept, a sleek, high-riding four-door GT that reimagines what luxury means in a market where sedans are going the way of the fax machine.

Once the cornerstone of Lexus’s identity, the LS luxury saloon quietly bowed out earlier this year after a 35-year run that began in 1989 with the car that launched the brand itself. But Lexus clearly isn’t ready to let the LS nameplate retire to a museum display. Instead, it’s reviving it in unexpected ways — not just with this coupé, but also with a single-seat Micro LS and even a six-wheeled LS MPV concept. Call it an LS family reunion, if the family had collectively lost its mind in the best possible way.

Among the trio, the LS Coupé Concept looks the most ready to make the leap from design studio to showroom. Think of it as Lexus’s answer to the BMW XM, Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé, or Porsche Cayenne Coupé — a rakish SUV with grand-touring flair and the proportions to match.

A Luxury SUV That Wants to Be a Driver’s Car

Lexus hasn’t given us any specs — no motor output, no range estimates, no zero-to-sixty times — but it has given us a mission statement. Ian Cartabiano, the head of Toyota’s California design studio, says the LS Coupé “lets you do it all, and do it all in style.” Translation: expect something that blends the comfort of an LS sedan with the engagement of a proper driver’s car.

The concept’s stance is pure power move: wide hips, a long hood, and a fastback profile that suggests performance more than practicality. Yet inside, Lexus is clearly chasing next-gen luxury.

Tech, Toys, and a Flying Camera

The cabin is dominated by three massive digital displays — two for the driver and one (which folds away) for the passenger. Lexus’s next-gen infotainment system lives here, along with a yoke-style steering wheel that hints the brand isn’t done refining its steer-by-wire tech from the RZ. The driver’s seat looks more Nürburgring than Nagoya, while in the back, passengers enjoy what Lexus claims is saloon-level space and comfort.

Rear occupants also get automatically deploying armrests, portrait-format screens built into the front seatbacks, and perhaps the most absurdly wonderful feature in any concept this year: a high-speed drone that deploys from the rear deck to follow the car and film your journey. Because if a luxury car does something amazing and no one captures it in 4K, did it really happen?

And instead of a conventional trunk lid, there’s a pull-out drawer for luggage — an idea so elegant and strange it almost feels like a concept from 2035, not 2025.

Under the Skin

If Lexus ever decides to greenlight this thing, the production version would likely ride on Toyota’s E-TNGA modular electric platform, the same bones that underpin the RZ. That would make it a close cousin to Lexus’s existing EV lineup — and potentially the brand’s electric counterpoint to the RX, the long-running, best-selling SUV that still defines Lexus’s modern success.

What It Means for Lexus

Whether or not the LS Coupé reaches production, it’s a signal that Lexus is ready to loosen its tie and experiment. The original LS rewrote the rules for luxury in 1989. This concept suggests Lexus might try to do it again — this time with a shape that fits the moment, a drivetrain that fits the future, and enough flair to make Stuttgart and Munich look over their shoulders.

Because when Lexus gets bold, interesting things tend to happen. And the LS Coupé Concept looks very interesting indeed.

Source: Lexus

NEW CARS

Lexus Builds a Van So Fancy It Needs an Extra Axle

Lexus just had its best year ever. Eight hundred and fifty-one thousand, two hundred and fourteen cars left its showrooms in 2024 — the most since the brand first burst onto the scene in 1989. By any sensible measure, you’d think that’s the perfect time to keep calm and carry on polishing the chrome.

But “sensible” has clearly been banned at Toyota HQ.

Because, dear reader, Lexus is about to launch a six-wheeled minivan. Yes, six wheels. Not an SUV, not a super-saloon — a minivan with three axles and, apparently, the soul of a luxury flagship. The sort of thing that sounds like it should be parked outside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building rather than the valet stand at the Tokyo Ritz.

The House of Lexus Goes Mad (In Style)

This whole madcap adventure comes from Toyota’s grand plan to shake up its luxury division. Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries says Lexus can now “move more freely” and “push forward as a pioneer.” Translated from corporate-speak, that means: we’ve made enough money to get weird again.

And weird they shall. A teaser for the upcoming concept — due to be unveiled at the Japan Mobility Show — shows something that looks part spaceship, part Bond villain shuttle. It’s said to sit above the current LM, Lexus’s already-posh take on the Toyota Alphard/Vellfire, which itself is basically the world’s nicest airport shuttle. So where do you go from there? Add another axle, obviously.

The LS Lives… as a Van?

Chairman Akio Toyoda, never one to avoid a headline, hints that this rolling experiment might even revive the fabled LS badge. The LS has long been Lexus’s stately saloon, the quiet, V8-powered embodiment of Japanese luxury. But according to Toyoda, the “S” no longer stands for sedan — it now stands for space.

“It’s an incredible challenge,” he says, noting that Lexus customers still expect the usual cocktail of silence, comfort, and unflappable composure — only now, on six wheels. The development team has been instructed to “discover and imitate no one.” Which, frankly, sounds less like a design brief and more like a samurai mantra.

Luxury Has Left the Lounge

Here’s the logic: in markets like China, the luxury van is king. Chauffeur-driven family pods such as the Volvo EM90, Buick GL8, and a fleet of futuristic Chinese rivals (Voyah Dream, Denza D9, Zeekr 009, Xpeng X9) are redefining what premium motoring looks like. While the West obsesses over SUVs, the East is quietly turning the van into the new limousine.

So perhaps Lexus isn’t crazy at all — merely ahead of the curve. Expect the concept to ditch combustion engines entirely, likely going full-electric with the sort of smooth, silent torque delivery that suits a rolling penthouse. Production? Don’t expect anything before 2027.

The End of the Sedan Era

The venerable LS sedan is apparently bowing out soon, replaced not by another leather-lined saloon, but by this bold, six-wheeled, chauffeur-first spaceship. Lexus calls it a “dramatic transformation.” We call it… intriguing madness.

Will traditionalists revolt at the idea of an LS-badged van? Probably. Will Lexus care? Not even slightly. Because, after years of playing the polite understudy to Mercedes and BMW, Lexus is finally doing what it does best: ignoring everyone else and building something entirely different.

So yes — Lexus may have just lost its marbles. But if this is what happens when they do, then please, keep them rolling.

Source: Toyota