Tag Archives: 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

CONCEPT CARS

Lexus LS 6×6 Concept: The Last Salute Goes Off the Rails

As the world quietly watches the slow fade of the Lexus LS — the stately limousine that launched Toyota’s luxury crusade 36 years ago — the brand has decided to celebrate its heritage not with a nostalgic farewell, but with… a six-wheeled minivan. Yes, six. Wheels. On an LS.

Somewhere, a German engineer just spilled their espresso.

From Samurai Sedan to Super Shuttle

Back in 1989, the LS was Toyota’s moonshot — a four-door statement that Japan could out-Benz the Benz. Fast forward to 2025, and the people who once demanded walnut veneer and whisper-quiet V8s now want to be chauffeured in rolling spas with ambient lighting and built-in massage chairs. Preferably in something that looks like an airport lounge on wheels.

Enter the Lexus LM — the “Luxury Mover” — basically an Alphard that’s been sent to finishing school. But apparently, Lexus thought even that wasn’t extra enough. Because at the upcoming Japan Mobility Show (née Tokyo Motor Show), the company is rolling out what appears to be an LS-badged, six-wheeled, fully electric luxury van.

Think Rolls-Royce meets cyberpunk camper van. Then add two more wheels just to confuse everyone.

Six Wheels of (Questionable) Glory

During a recent 90-minute Lexus livestream — which we watched in full so you don’t have to — the long-teased LFR supercar was nowhere to be seen. Instead, a shadowy shape loomed out of the darkness: tall, boxy, and unmistakably weird. Cue the LS 6×6 Concept.

The design? Imagine a skyscraper in motion. The bodywork is upright and unapologetically rectangular, topped with a flat roofline that looks capable of hosting a rooftop sushi bar. The face is dominated by vertical LED DRLs that stretch from bumper to bonnet, while the taillight bar climbs skyward like an electric exclamation mark.

And then there’s the door layout — or lack thereof. The passenger side seems to forgo a conventional front door entirely, opting instead for a gigantic, power-sliding portal that opens onto what appears to be a cavernous, lounge-like interior. Judging by the proportions, this thing has more legroom than most Tokyo apartments.

EV Heart, Concept Soul

Lexus hasn’t spilled the specs, but it’s almost certainly electric. That makes sense: the extra battery packaging could justify that third axle while keeping the cabin as open and serene as a Kyoto tea house.

And make no mistake — this is not a production car. The third axle is pure theatre, a visual sledgehammer to make sure nobody mistakes this for your average family hauler. It’s concept-car madness, the sort of thing that makes you grin before you even understand why.

An LS in Name, Not in Nature

To call this a “flagship” is almost trolling. The LS name once meant refinement, restraint, and quiet confidence. Now it’s been strapped to something that looks like it escaped from a designer’s fever dream. Purists will wail. The internet will meme. Lexus will shrug — because, frankly, this is the kind of weird the world needs right now.

What Else is Coming

The LS 6×6 Concept won’t be alone on stage. Lexus is also showing off a Century Coupe — basically Japan’s answer to a Bentley Continental — and possibly a reimagined Corolla concept. But let’s be honest: it’s the six-wheeler that will dominate the headlines.

Because when Lexus says goodbye to its original flagship, it’s not doing it quietly. It’s doing it with six wheels, three axles, and a wink to the future.

Source: Lexus

NEW CARS

2026 Lexus IS 350: The Last Samurai Sedan

There’s a certain poetry to Lexus choosing Road Atlanta for the first public showing of its newest IS 350. The smell of race fuel, the howl of GT3 cars slicing through Georgia air — and in the Fan Zone, a neatly tailored Japanese sports sedan that’s still stubbornly clinging to six cylinders and rear-wheel drive. In 2025, that makes it something of a hero. Or a holdout. Maybe both.

After a digital debut last month, the 2026 Lexus IS 350 is stepping into the real world at this weekend’s IMSA Petit Le Mans, the spiritual finale to America’s endurance season. The move is fitting — endurance is what the IS has been about all along. While rivals are downsizing, hybridizing, and in some cases vaporizing entirely, Lexus has doubled down on what made the IS great in the first place: a front-mounted V6, a proper rear-wheel-drive chassis, and a driving position that whispers, “Go on then.”

All F SPORT, All the Time

The big news? The IS lineup has gone full F SPORT. Every model now looks, feels, and drives like it’s been spending weekends at track days. The familiar 3.5-liter V6 soldiers on with 311 horsepower and 280 lb-ft of torque, paired with an eight-speed auto for rear-drivers or a six-speed if you insist on all-wheel traction. Sure, the numbers haven’t changed — but it’s not about numbers. It’s about attitude.

And attitude is what the new Wind paint color and Radiant Red interior scream from the rooftops. The IS on display at Road Atlanta looks like it’s just stepped off a Tokyo concept stand: red-painted calipers, dark gray 19-inch alloys, triple-beam LEDs, and those staggered-width tires that hint at a chassis ready to play.

A Cockpit for the Modern Samurai

Inside, Lexus has quietly dragged the IS into 2026. The cabin now centers around a crisp 12.3-inch touchscreen running the latest Lexus Interface system — fast, logical, and mercifully less shouty than some German setups. The seating position is still spot on, the materials feel expensive, and the new color options make the place feel less like a banker’s lounge and more like a driver’s den.

From Trackside to Showroom

The IS 350’s debut also doubles as a celebration of Lexus Racing’s presence at Petit Le Mans. While the brand’s RC F GT3s battle it out in the GTD PRO and GTD classes, fans can wander over to the Lexus Racing Experience to see the IS up close. And if you’re lucky enough to snag an invite, Lexus is hosting a Sunday event where Richard Hollingsworth and factory drivers will walk guests through the car’s finer details. Expect polished shoes, strong coffee, and maybe a whiff of race rubber in the air.

The Last of Its Kind?

The 2026 IS 350 might just be the last naturally aspirated, non-electrified, rear-drive sport sedan Lexus builds. And that gives it a certain magic. It’s not the fastest, or the flashiest, but it’s one of the few that still feels built by people who like driving.

Pricing and fuel numbers will arrive before its early 2026 on-sale date, but really — who cares? The point of this car isn’t efficiency. It’s faith. Faith that somewhere between the SUVs and the EVs, there’s still room for a proper driver’s sedan.

Source: Lexus