TOKYO 2003: Lexus finally gets a design of its own

By Mark Rechtin
Automotive News / October 27, 2003

TOKYO -- Nearly 15 years after its creation, Lexus is getting its own design signature.

Toyota Motor Corp. last week unveiled two concept vehicles at the Tokyo Motor Show that epitomize the future of the Lexus look. The new design philosophy, called "L-Finesse," embodies what Toyota calls "incisive simplicity, intriguing elegance and seamless anticipation."

The new language "is the first real examination of where Lexus design is going," said Simon Humphries, project manager for Toyota and Lexus at Toyota's Tokyo design center.

Lexus has been criticized for copying established German design or for warming over the look of some Japan-market Toyotas. But Dezi Nagaya, general manager of the Lexus brand planning department in Tokyo, said the new face of Lexus reflects the "beauty of contrast" that is implicit in Japanese design.

The hood of the LF-S sedan concept unveiled here is serene and unmarred. It gives way to sharply creased broad shoulders, with changing convex and concave surfaces as the sheet metal plunges toward the pavement.

The roofline sweeps back dramatically, but the rear window cut kinks sharply and dramatically. The greenhouse is narrow, but the cabin is surprisingly roomy.

"I don't want a boxy look that shows the car has room," said Nagaya, who also penned the current-generation GS 430. "If we can provide room with good styling, that's an engineering trick that will astonish and delight customers."

A bit of BMW

AutoPacific analyst Jim Hall and some other showgoers said the sedan is not nearly as original as Lexus might want people to believe.

Hall called the rear window kink and the cut of the rear door rip-offs of generations of BMW sedans. He added that the overall design language is similar to what Walter de' Silva is doing at Alfa Romeo.

"It's showing a direction for Lexus, which is pretty damn important," Hall said. "It doesn't look dumpy. It's high style. But they've also used the two most noticeable design cues of BMW."

Akihiko Saito, Toyota executive vice president in charge of design, engineering and product development, said Lexus needs its own design language to separate it from the Toyota brand and to help position it as a global premium brand.

A reflection of Japan

"It is not consistent for Lexus to have a European or American style of design," Saito said. "It loses the personality of a car made by a Japanese manufacturer. A Lexus needs to reflect the traditional culture and history of Japan."

The LF-S being shown here is a concept version of the next GS 430, although sources say the show car is quite close to the production version.

The LF-X, first seen at the New York auto show as the HPX, is a crossover concept vehicle that carries many of the same cues as the sedan. It could be an addition to the lineup above the RX 330, sources said.


The Lexus LF-X concept, shown at the New York auto show as the HPX, could join the lineup above the RX 330. PHOTO: JIM FETS
Although the two vehicles share some family resemblance, Nagaya cautions against too much consistency in the new Lexus design.

"We have to manage our design synergy and manage our models individually," Nagaya said. "We are searching for what measures should be kept. We don't want to make small, medium and large sausages like BMW or Audi. But there does need to be some resemblance, and we don't have that right now."

Nagaya said another major styling cue of "L-Finesse" design is a grille situated on a lower plane than the headlights.

A straight horizontal fascia is a key component of what Nagaya called "majestic" Germanic luxury design, but he said the lower Lexus grille is "more honest." It also provides engineering efficiency with a lower coefficient of drag due to better airflow, Nagaya said.

Critics speak out

Some rival auto executives were not so quick to give Lexus credit for a new look.

Patrick Pelata, Nissan Motor Co.'s product czar, called it a "very sleek design," but added, "It's just a show car, and the proportions can't be done."

Volvo Car Corp. CEO Hans-Olov Olsson accused Lexus of copying the broad shoulders and tapered-tail look of the S60 and S80 sedans.

Regardless of what the critics say, this is the new face of Lexus, and it's here to stay well past the end of the decade. What it stands for will have longer legs than that.

Said Nagaya: "We need a forever philosophy, not just a design language."


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LEXUS LF-S

What it is: Luxury sports sedan
Engine: V-8 gas-electric hybrid
Who designed it: Toyota's Tokyo design studio
What's cool: This is the starting point for future Lexus design. A much different take on luxury.
Will it be built: This is the new GS 430, mildly overstated. It will be a bit taller, with slightly muted cues, but otherwise this is it. It is scheduled to arrive in the U.S. in February 2005.
Show reaction: Admiration from some, disbelief from others that Lexus turned out this vehicle. Two Nissan execs looked more than a little worried when told this is an accurate depiction of a production car.

Staff Reporter James B. Treece contributed to this report

 

Photos and description of Lexus LF-S here:

http://www.acura-cl.com/forums/showt...hreadid=117552

 

thx gav

looks a little wierd though...still the more hybrid engines arround the better

 

we shall see if they actually build it-it looks like a love hate design. i can't see other companies being worried when lexus already leads the lux market

 

id pimp the Lf-S

 

lfs and lfx

 

yeah real original. the wagon in the second pic has an o4 TLis front end, bmw 7 series style wheels, and an Infiniti FX winsheild back.

 

looks like they are moving away from the lfx design(which was the hpx last year) towards the lfs.

 

hood on second pic looks like the new accord.

 

I like it, could be a little more manly lookin but still nice.

 

u guys notice the trend honda set off w/the hood not intersecting the headlights, 1st w/the s2k and then the accord...isee quite a few manufacturers doing the same no i.e. new 5, above lexus etc

 

where's the part where the Nissan execs are worried like the title of this thread says...or was that your own spindoctoring...

 

interesting......

certainly better than the current ES330.

 

its aite

 

Are you testing me Zero?

"Show reaction: Admiration from some, disbelief from others that Lexus turned out this vehicle. Two Nissan execs looked more than a little worried when told this is an accurate depiction of a production car."

 

I dunno. More cars with small windows and too much body. I am sure it will be detailed as hell. The sedan does look futuristic though. The wagon does look like a damn FX.

Fock no more quad headlights or tailights. Damn.

 

LFS is interesting....not sure if i like it or not.

i thought lexus was doing away with that SUV concept they had that looked similar to the infiniti FX cus they already have alot of SUVs in the lineup...or is that LFX a minivan? not too original IMO

 

nissan acura lexus and MAZDA are all starting to look the same

 

LFX is a crossover. A minivan/stationwagon/SUV aparatus.