Sarlacc

I'd have to see it in person...but I actually like it.

biker

Did Lexus folks borrow some Acura designer to "uglify" their designs?

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

that is one fking ugly car.. wow

F23A4

All of sudden, the 4G TL seems a little less ugly......and I'm not referring to the 2012 model.

honda_nut

Lexus is just trying to even out the playing field lol. Didn't you guys hear, ugly is the new "in." Just ask the guys at Acura.

On a side note, there's not a single new car, exotics excluded, that I've absolutely loved the looks of from past few years. The entire market is either bland or ugly, except maybe the Koreans.

Yumcha

Wow...that is awful.

West6MT

x 2

VTEC Racer

Aman

If they got rid of that giant Hitler mustache of a grille, I think it would look great. Rest of the car looks classy, save for the wheels. Give us some regular 5-spokes.

And some mirrors. Mirrors would be nice.

Aman

Wouldn't F-Sport be considered OEM? In which case I think it would increase resale value.

Crazy Bimmer

I like it.

phile

i think it looks good only from that rear shot

biker

I'm thinking any production version will tame the look and make it better (the reverse of the trend compared to Honda).

ThermonMermon

technically, it is OEM.

IS-F is one story, but when you load up a non-F car with F-Sport items, corporate treats it as a nuissance. there are many theories why - one guess is that is kills their depreciation and reliability figures as a whole. F-Sport jacks up the sticker price beyond recoup, and it threatens the overall reliability of the vehicle.

the dealers profit from the use of F-Sport upgrades (labor), but not so much lexus corporate. i dont even think corporate makes that much off of these upgrades since its low volume sales, and it has little impact on resale. it also limits their CPO demographic. for these reasons, i could see how it is a nuissance for them to deal with F-Sport. they just need to grim and bear it, since the F-Sport line creates a sporty image for lexus, and helps boost sales among the line-up (F-Sport configured cars or not).

fsttyms1

I kinda like it

Black Tire

WTF? They copied both BMW and Hyundai?

TMQ

Lexus is doing the Darth Vader look?

Yikes.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

I really don't like it.

titan

It's a terrible design.

Yumcha

Well, considering how you suddenly like the Acura ZD..............erm, nevermind.

TSX69

The New Lexus GS Caught Testing

Here you can see the 1st spy photos of the new Lexus GS, taken today by CarPix spy photographers. These pictures surprise the car while it takes some laps around a rainy Nürburgring in Germany.

Even if the car is covered with that dense, black camouflage, we can easily see, that it look alot like the Lexus LF-Gh concept car that was shown earlier this year at the New York Car Show.

The next generation Lexus GS sedan expected to launch in time for the 2013 model year. At NY Car Show, Lexux LF-Gh showcases a number of new design elements that will proliferate across the Lexus lineup in the coming years. Most important is the spindle-shaped grille that dominates the front fascia, which is flanked by full LED headlights with L-shaped LED running lights. Except some changes (particularly its character lines, roofline, and proportions) borrows heavily from Lexus’ flagship LS range.

The brand stated (before the concept has been shown in NY) that the interior will be a meticulously designed and engineered cabin using the highest quality materials. It has “re-examined every detail of the interior, with the aim of making [it] driver-focused.”

Considering that the exterior at least is very similar with LF-Gh concept car presented in New York this year, we can suppose that it will keep the same dimensions and features as the concept. The car presented in NY was 192.5 in. long and 73.6 in. wide, the LF-Gh is roughly 2.5 in. longer and about 2 in. wider than the current 2011 GS 450h hybrid sedan.

For now we do not have the official specifications, but with roughly the same dimensions, we expected this car to use an updated version of the 292-bhp 3.5-liter V-6 engine and CVT automatic transmission found in the GS 450h.

We will keep you in touch with all the information that will appear. Until then you can watch the most recent spy pics with the new Lexus GS in the gallery below.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

AAAAAHHHHHHHH GODDAMN LED STRIPS!!!!!

Im sick of seeing them. Fucking KIAs have them now. Theyre like those damn stick on vents you see on Chrysler 300s.

biker

It doesn't look like they fixed the problem with the too small opening into the trunk.

ThermonMermon

hmm...thats a pretty tall greenhouse for a 2013!

S14 n Tsx

How you think Xenon headlights came around?

get used it. Soon or later everyone will replace DRL to LED strip or halogen to LED headlights.

S14 n Tsx

God damn... side mirrors looks huge.

biker

Right out of the Lexus parts bin.

S14 n Tsx

^^ first thing caught my eye was that ugly ass mirrors.

VTEC Racer

Wow that is some major wheel gap. I know the car is gonna be RWD but the proportions from these pics scream FWD. This looks more like an ES than a GS (i.e. cheaper).

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Apples to oranges. You couldve used doors as an example.

An LED strip has absolutely no real use, other then aesthetics. Its just like BMWs halos. They look good on BMWs, just like the LED strip looks good on Audis. On other cars, it looks like a cheap knock off. HID lighting on the other hand is an improvement over halogen lighting, therefore serving a purpose. :twocents:

MTEAZY

LEDs look good on Aston Martins, Porsche Cayenne/Panamera Turbo projectors and the 2012 Jaguars

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

LEDs look legit on Audi cars, that's it.

MTEAZY

They look stupid on the TT. Aston Martin has had them since 05 I think

TSX69

2013 Lexus GS Prototype

Lexus has a problem. Toyota's luxury brand is -- whisper it -- not cool. The bland smoothness and silence of the current LS and ES models are increasingly appealing to a generation whose idea of a great drive is the back 9 at the country club with their retired buddies. The rumbling IS F might be an intriguing AMG-meets-Ginza sport sedan, but the rest of the IS range remains resolutely regarded as a chick car. The lux-by-numbers RX, which has become the brand's leitmotif in the U.S., is now the favored ride of modestly prosperous suburban women of a certain age. (How Toyota squandered the opportunity to define the Lexus brand with the original LS, a car so stunningly well-engineered it sent Mercedes-Benz back to the drawing board, and allowed a warmed-over Toyota SUV to take its place is a whole other story.) And sales of the HS 250h have fallen well short of expectations: Lexus anticipated selling 25,000 to 30,000 a year, but last year managed to shift fewer than 11,000 of the upscale compact hybrid.

The GS? The car that arguably should be the heart of market for Lexus in the U.S. is almost invisible against the Germans that dominate the segment -- the 3496 GS models sold last year totaled one-fifth of BMW 5 Series sales, and barely one-eighth of Mercedes-Benz E-class volume. In 2008, GS sales reached nearly 16,000 units, but still lagged well behind 5-series (nearly 46,000 units) and E-class (nearly 39,000 units). Koji Sato, deputy chief engineer of the next-gen Lexus GS program, wants to change that. The new GS is roomier inside, and more aggressively styled. But the top development priority, says Sato-san, has been to make the car more fun to drive.

To that end, the 2013 GS rolls on an all-new platform, and features all-new front and rear suspension. Compared with the current GS, the new car's wheelbase and overall length are the same (112.2 inches and 190.9 inches, respectively), though the proportions have been changed slightly, thanks to an 0.4-inch reduction in the front overhang, and a corresponding 0.4-inch increase in the length of the sheetmetal aft of the rear axle center line. Height has gone up 1.2 inches and width increased by 0.8 inch. The front seats are lower to the floor than in the current GS to get the driver's H-point closer to the center of gravity.

The front and rear track have been widened by 1.6 inches and 2.0 inches respectively, pushing the wheels right to the edge of the body envelope. The new front suspension assembly is 4.4 pounds lighter than that of the current car, while the new multi-link layout at the rear eschews the old coil-over setup, and allows for adjustable toe control.

We weren't allowed to look under the black vinyl bodysuits during our drive of Sato-san's two heavily camo'd GS prototypes -- the car will make its official debut at Pebble Beach next month -- but the sheetmetal won't be a million miles removed from that of the LF-Gh shown at the New York auto show in April, right down to the controversial, in-your-face grille and front fascia treatment. The headlight assemblies feature the bright "string-of-pearls" daylight running lights that are now apparently de rigueur for any self-respecting luxury car, and the exhaust tips are an evolution of the heavily stylized outlets of the current LS.

The new interior will feature lots of stitched leather, and the new IP boasts the largest information screen in the business: 12.3 inches, almost 2 inches bigger than the latest BMW screen. All the functions are controlled via Lexus' clever haptic mouse system, and the graphics are bright and easy to ready. It's going to be relentlessly sold as a "surprise and delight" feature on the showroom floor. Another surprise: The new GS interior won't be restricted to the formulaic black, grey, and beige palettes we've come to expect from Lexus -- one of our prototypes featured handsome dark red-brown seats with contrasting stitching.

The GS will be revealed initially with just one powertrain: Toyota's tried-and-true 3.5-liter V-6, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. Why only a 6-speed, when all the GS' German rivals have already moved to 7- and 8-speeders? U.S. Lexus insiders admit they pushed back on a higher-tech tranny because they believed American consumers are more prepared to swallow the cost of bright, shiny gee-gaws like a 12.3-inch nav screen instead. They're probably right. Sigh.

There will be no mainstream V-8 engine in the next GS. Instead, Lexus will offer a performance-tuned hybrid based on the 3.5-liter V-6 that will be revealed at the Frankfurt Show in September. Will there be a GS F? If Lexus is serious about this whole "fun to drive" business, you'd think a buttoned-down, high-performance GS with the thundering 416-hp, 5.0-liter V-8 from the IS F under the hood would be a no-brainer, but Lexus insiders remain cagey on the matter, merely pointing out the IS F engine is now relatively old, and that tough new fuel economy laws on the way suggest it might not have much of a future. An F Sport version of the car will be revealed at the SEMA Show in Las Vegas in November, however.

The good news is the new GS will offer the discerning driver a choice of suspension tunes and wheel and tire combinations. The base wheel/tire combo features 18-inch rims and 235/45 all-season tires. Adaptive variable suspension will be available as an option. Using the new rotary controller on the center console, which allows drivers to switch the engine and transmission calibrations between Eco, Normal and Sport modes, drivers will be able to select a Sport+ mode that also stiffens the suspension.

The F Sport version will come with 19-inch wheels and Bridgestone summer tires -- the 265/35 meats at the rear will be the widest tires ever fitted to a Lexus other than the LFA. The bigger wheels will also give you bigger front brake rotors and new calipers. F Sport cars will also come standard with the Lexus Dynamic Handling System (LDHS), which means variable ratio steering and the adaptive variable suspension system. LDHS can be further enhanced with the addition of an optional rear wheel steering system that uses a computer-controlled gear arrangement to automatically alter the toe setting of the rear wheels for improved response and stability through corners.

We completed a little more than 50 miles in the two GS prototypes -- one a base car on 18-inch wheels and all-season tires, but fitted with the optional adaptive variable suspension; the other an F-Sport spec car with all the goodies -- over a route that included busy freeway, fast canyon road, and a small autocross track. Bottom line? The new GS is a big step in the right direction. Even on the standard wheel-tire combo the new car feels more limber and alert than the current GS. It turns in with more authority, and there's way more bite from the front tires. The ride quality is also much improved. Even in the F Sport model on the lower profile tires and with the suspension in the firmest setting, there's much less of the gritty agitation that blights the current car at low speeds on acned urban roads. Sato-san says the new front suspension design has allowed Lexus engineers to use softer bushings to reduce impact harshness without compromising stability. You can feel it.

The F Sport-spec prototype we drove was fitted with the trick new rear wheel steering system. The bigger, stickier tires sharpen the turn-in response noticeably, and there is less tendency for the car to rotate mid-corner. In fact, the stability and traction from the rear end is so good, it tends to induce a hint of understeer as you power past the apex of a turn. Steering feel on both cars is good, as is brake feel, though the F Sport brake package is more obedient underfoot.

The 3.5-liter V-6 is a solid performer, though it gets noisy as it nears its relatively modest 6500-rpm redline, and it's more Jersey Shore catfight than mechanical Verdi. The transmission on both cars needed final calibration to smooth some lumps in the shift sequence, but in sport mode the 6-speed will hold revs into turns, and in manual mode -- paddle shifts are standard across the range -- it blips the throttle on the downshifts.

On 1st acquaintance Koji Sato and his engineers have achieved their key development goal: The 2013 Lexus GS is indeed more fun to drive than the somewhat anodyne sedan it replaces. So can a sportier GS make Lexus cool again? Not by itself. But following in the wheeltracks of the LFA and the oddly compelling CT 200h, it's a start.

TSX69

2012 Lexus GS 350 1st Drive

Creation of the 2012 Lexus GS 350 began in the summer of 2006. In Germany. On the unrestricted Autobahn.

Lexus engineers and product planners needed to rethink the GS, which had been getting its taillights kicked by the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class since the mid-1990s. So they did the right thing; they gathered in the homeland of Benz and BMW and they drove fast.

They brought along 10 cars to flog, including multiple versions of the 5 and the E. They brought diesels, V8s, even an M5. They also brought along a Porsche Cayman as a steering benchmark and a 2006 Euro-spec Lexus GS.

"I'll probably get in trouble for telling you this," says Ben J. Mitchell, who participated in the gathering. "But our GS was all done at 110 mph."

He hesitates. We're sitting in a dimly lit steak house in Pasadena, California, and the Lexus product planning manager isn't sure he should say anymore. But he does. "It would have gone faster," he says of the 2006 GS, "but you didn't want to drive it any faster. The sedan's structure wasn't up to it. The doors started moving in their frames and the car just stopped being fun to drive."

Mitchell drops his knife and fork and grips an imaginary steering wheel in the 9 and 3 positions. "The Mercedes felt best," he says, pretending to steer a car delicately. "It was still easy to drive at 150."

That triple-digit-speed field trip taught Mitchell and the Lexus engineers exactly what the next Lexus GS should be. "More fun to drive became a top vehicle priority," says the sedan's Deputy Chief Engineer Koji Sato. "The next GS had to have a more engaging driving experience."

Duh. The 2012 Lexus GS has always had the personality of a supermodel. As in none.

More Fun
6 years after that brilliant revelation, I'm driving a 2012 Lexus GS wearing more zippers and black leather than The Gimp. (Not me, the car. I'm wearing chinos and a button-down.) And I'm driving it on the Angeles Crest Highway, a fantastic driver's road just northeast of downtown Los Angeles.

Slow at 1st. The last thing I want to do is scuff up the sedan's kinky leather mask, which will finally be removed at the Pebble Beach Concours next month. Trust me when I tell you that it looks very much like the LF-Gh Concept that Lexus showed at the New York auto show last spring.

It's still a Lexus as it should be. Smooth. Comfortable. But it's the best-driving Lexus sedan yet.

The 1st thing I notice is that I can hear the engine. And I mean hear it. Really hear it. And it sounds good. There's even a little gear whine. Amazing. Then I notice how perfect the seat is. It's no longer dead flat and Buick-like. It has bolsters. It has bolsters that adjust. And it's sized for adults. This is no hard and silly race seat that can only fit anorexic metrosexuals named Josh; it's a proper sport sedan seat with an endless combination of power adjustments and just the right amount of size and shape.

And the driving position is a revelation. Sato lowered the driver's hip point half an inch. It doesn't sound like much, but it changes the entire character of the car. Now you sit in the GS, not on it. Hey Lexus, don't change a thing.

That goes for the steering, too. The ratio is spot-on and the feedback from the front tires is...is...dare I say it, BMW-like.

This car is fun. And the more comfortable I get with the machine, the faster I go. After a few miles at a safe seven-tenths I turn it up a notch and the new GS hangs in there, responding to trail braking and midcorner corrections like...like...dare I say it, like a BMW. It turns in well and takes a nice set in long corners. Plenty of grip.

At an extreme pace the 2012 Lexus GS will push its front tires mildly, and in the grand Toyota/Lexus tradition, its stability control system intervenes just when things are about to get really fun. Too early, if you ask me. But you can shut all that off and drive this car as well, or as poorly, or as far off the road backward, as you wish.

More Power?
They may have let me drive the car, but Sato and Mitchell won't tell me much about it. I do know there will be three models offered when Lexus hits the on-sale button early next year. There will be the GS 350, which will be shown at Pebble; a hybrid model, which will be shown at the Frankfurt auto show in September; and the more performance-oriented F Sport, which will debut at SEMA in November.

All three will be rear-wheel drive and powered by a tweaked version of the 3.5-liter all-aluminum V6 and 6-speed automatic transmission. But horsepower and torque ratings are still a mystery. Today that engine is rated at 303 hp and 274 pound-feet in the 2012 Lexus GS. Expect more, but not much more. Maybe 315 ponies to topple the rating of the BMW 535i.

Basically the hybrid takes over for the big displacement of a V8 model, but the door is still open for a BMW M5-fighting GS F, which would be powered by the 5.0-liter V8 and 8-speed transmission used in the Lexus IS F. When asked about this model, Lexus folk get all coy and sheepish. Trust us, it's coming. Probably early 2013.

So the GS's drivetrain isn't new, but the rest of the sedan is fresh. The chassis is new and it's stiffer thanks to increased spot and laser welding on the firewall, in the rear partition area and around the door openings. Lexus also added more structure under and behind the rear seat and larger-gauge material to the engine cradle and the transmission crossmember.

This is also a larger car than before. Sort of. The wheelbase remains at 112.2 inches and the overall length is still 190.9 inches, but the packaging is different. The front overhang has shrunk by 0.4 inch and the rear overhang has grown by the same amount. That has increased trunk space to the point of fitting 4 golf bags instead of just 2. The car is also 1.2 inches taller, which has increased headroom front and rear, and when measured at the mirrors it's 0.8 inch wider.

2 Models
Lexus actually let me drive two prototypes: standard and F Sport. The differences are minor but significant. The most obvious are the wheels and tires. The standard car rolls on Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 050 rubber measuring 235/45R18 all around. The F Sport gets larger and stickier Bridgestone Potenza RE 050A tires measuring 235/40R19 in front and 265/35R19 in back. It also gets larger front brake rotors, but Lexus would give me no brake dimensions to share.

For years, Sato and his engineering team worked on the GS's front suspension, which is basically the same design as before, but with new geometry and some new hardware. The team switched to aluminum upper and lower control arms and an aluminum knuckle to save 4.4 pounds. They also increased the caster trail for improved stability and steering feel. To further improve the ride and reduce harshness, Sato increased the size of the lower number-2 bushing and the shock absorber inclination angle.

Some of the same technology also went into the rear suspension, which now uses a lighter cast-aluminum carrier and lower arm, as well as a rear-mounted toe link for additional stability.

But the most significant change to the GS's suspension is its width. Lexus has increased the GS's track 1.6 inches in the front and 2 inches in the rear. That's a huge change and it's a big part of the sedan's newfound agility and stability.

Suspension tuning is unique for each model. The F Sport is tuned more firmly than the standard car, but it's still very comfortable around town. The standard car also has plenty of feel built in, but it is on the softer side once the suspension gets into its travel.

Sport+
Both prototypes I sampled were equipped with a new system Lexus is calling Lexus Drive Mode Select. It's controlled by a large knob behind the shifter, and offers four settings to tune the car to the driver's liking. Eco for the greenies, Normal, which is the default setting, Sport, which tightens up the initial throttle response and amps up the transmission and Sport+, which also adds more effort to the steering and more damping to the suspension.

It's a system similar to BMW's Dynamic Drive Control and Audi Drive Select. And it works, even if such systems still seem unnecessary. I drove both cars in all four settings and I prefer the standard GS in Sport+ mode to eliminate that slight bit of float built into its suspension, and I prefer the F Sport in the Normal setting, which is an exceptional combination of sport and luxury.

My only real dynamic gripe about the 2012 Lexus GS 350 is with its transmission. Although it matches revs very well when you manually ask for a downshift, it only matches revs if the shifter is over in the M position. Otherwise the paddle shifters are still active but the rev-matching is not.

The transmission also insists on upshifting at redline, even when the M position is selected. In other words, Lexus never lets you touch the V6's rev limiter. This is a problem in the mountains. More than once it upshifted to 3rd gear a split-second before I jumped on the brakes and entered a corner. Not good.

Better Than the IS F
Lexus should be proud of this car. It's still a Lexus as it should be. Smooth. Comfortable. But it's the best-driving Lexus sedan yet. It's refined, but it doesn't feel synthetic or computer controlled, which isn't something that can be said about another Lexus four-door, even the monster-motored IS F.

Although it was covered with quite a bit of duct tape in these prototypes, the GS's new interior should also strike a pleasing combination of sport and luxury. French stitching is abundant, the buttery leather used is of typical Lexus quality and the new extra-large display screen in the dash center is plucked right from BMW's playbook.

Of course, until we see the 2012 Lexus GS in the flesh and drive the finished production version, we can't really form a complete opinion about the sedan. But I did come away from my drive very impressed. Lexus may have finally figured out the sport sedan.

TSX69

Car & Driver

The GS is Lexus’s answer to the BMW 5-series and the Mercedes-Benz E-class, but it has never quite measured up to those 2 sedans in sales numbers. As the car enters its 4th generation, Lexus tells us the GS will be sportier and more focused on the driving experience.

That goes for the company, too. Content with more than 20 years of pursuing perfection, it will use the upcoming GS to lead a philosophical change, an outlook it describes as “joy and leading edge.” We’re told that means that the brand is moving beyond the Spock-like purely rational and toward emotional connections with buyers. Driver enjoyment and engagement are vital to the new attitude. Aggression is in. Complete isolation is out. We’ve seen inklings of the shift in cars like the IS-F and the LFA supercar, but the new GS is a volume product, not a limited-edition model. To give us a taste of its new way of thinking, Lexus invited us to drive two heavily camouflaged GS350 prototypes.

I Believe We’ve Met

Powering both prototypes is a warmed-over version of the GS350’s current 3.5-liter V-6. Lexus staffers wouldn’t get too specific about the changes to the engine, but hinted at the possibility of a few more horsepower. We’ve never straight-line tested a GS350, but we have no reason to doubt Lexus’s 0-to-60-mph estimate of 5.7 seconds. For those seeking more acceleration—as well as fuel-conscious buyers—the GS hybrid will return. Running contrary to Lexus’s claims about newfound sportiness, the V-8–powered GS460 is dead.

Even with the cars covered in what look like garbage bags, it’s easy to tell that this new GS is a break from those that have come before. From what we could see, the dashboard and doors are wrapped in leather in a style that mimics the LFA’s interior. The Lexus “waterfall” center console is gone. In its place is a massive 12.3-inch screen that displays navigation and audio information, as well as a host of other vehicle settings. Models without navigation will get a smaller screen. Sit down in the current GS, and it immediately feels stodgy and dated.

Our drive included two different GS models. 1 represented the mainstream GS350 while the other shows just how far the GS350 might take driver involvement. Standard on all upcoming GS sedans will be Lexus Drive Mode Select. The Drive Mode Select knob allows the driver to put the car in Eco, Normal, Sport S, or Sport S+ modes. Eco dials back throttle response and upshifts the 6-speed automatic transmission early to boost fuel economy. Switch to Sport, and the transmission holds gears longer, downshifts under aggressive braking, and increases throttle sensitivity. Move the shifter into the manual gate and downshift with either the shifter or the paddles, and the engine blips itself for rev-matched downshifts. Sport+ is only available on cars equipped with active shocks (as our two prototypes were). This setting stiffens the shocks, as well as quickens the steering on models fitted with the variable-ratio system.

F That

The sportier of the two prototypes available for our drive will be known as the GS F-Sport when it goes on sale in early 2012. Higher spring rates, a thicker anti-roll bar, firmer adaptive shocks, larger two-piece front brake rotors, four-wheel steering, a variable-ratio rack, and 19-inch wheels with summer tires (235/40-19 in front and 265/35-19 in back) give the F-Sport quick responses and plenty of grip. The chassis can easily handle more power than the 3.5-liter V-6 can deliver. Switch to Sport +, and the steering becomes quick (we measured 2.2 turns lock-to-lock) and the weighting increases. Accurate and spirited, the quick steering makes the GS feel like a smaller car. One gripe: The steering effort doesn’t increase in response to front-tire stress. Switch the stability control completely off, and the F-Sport proves playful. It’s possible to coax the GS to power oversteer, but the big sticky rubber in back and the 4-wheel steering brings the rear end back in line with ease.

Riding on 18-inch wheels with 235/45-18 summer tires, the second prototype on hand proved to be a less-extreme machine. Compared to the F-Sport, the mainstream GS is softer and has more body roll. After driving the F-Sport equipped with variable steering, the non-variable rack-and-pinion feels slower. Then we drove the current GS and found it to be even less secure feeling, with a very intrusive stability-control system.

Say No to Growing Pains

The new GS will not be any larger than the current car. Wheelbase is unchanged at 112.2 inches, while overall length increases from 190 inches to 190.9. Interior space is up, thanks to a 0.8-inch increase in width and a roof that’s higher by 1.2 inches. The latter provides a boost to rear-seat headroom. Through the use of high-strength steel and more laser welding, Lexus claims its new platform is both more rigid and lighter than before. Unfortunately, any weight loss there will be cancelled out by more standard and optional equipment, and the GS’s curb weight will remain roughly where it is today.

Lexus will debut the GS on August 18. After that, the GS hybrid will turn up at the Frankfurt auto show in September, a few weeks before the GS F-Sport breaks cover at the SEMA show in Las Vegas. Lexus wouldn’t reveal the exact on-sale date, but we were told it would be sometime in early 2012. Snow sufferers should see an all-wheel-drive GS350 by the middle of next year.

Having driven only prototypes, it’s a bit too early to determine how the GS will stack up against the competition, but a legitimate sports sedan from Lexus may give BMW and Audi buyers something to consider.

Specifications

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, rear and 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

ESTIMATED BASE PRICE: GS350, $48,000; GS hybrid, $55,000; GS F-Sport, $55,000

ENGINE TYPE: DOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and heads, direct fuel injection

Displacement: 211 cu in, 3456 cc
Power (SAE net): 305 hp @ 6200 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 274 lb-ft @ 3600 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 6-speed automatic with manual shifting mode

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 112.2 in Length: 190.9 in
Width: 72.4 in Height: 57.3 in
Curb weight (C/D EST): 3850 lb

PERFORMANCE (C/D EST):
Zero to 60 mph: 5.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 14.2 sec
Top speed: 145 mph

FUEL ECONOMY (C/D EST):
EPA city/highway: 20/27 mpg

ThermonMermon

looks like they greenlighted the crazy front end from the concept.

dash layout is VERY bmw.

jasonwdp10

interesting

Moog-Type-S

Looks like Lexus is going to copy the BMW interior style.
Minimalist-contemporary design.

krio

yep, I was thinking the same... maybe even more new Audi A6 style..