The current Lexus GS 350, 460 and 450h have faded into the background of the midsize luxury sedan segment, but development of a succesor is well underway. This week spy photographers caught up with a prototype of the next-generation 2012 Lexus GS in Germany.
Don't get too hung up on the similarity of the grille on this mule to the current car's -- at this stage of the game, it's basically camo. Lexus officials have already said they intend to take more risks (although we use "risks" loosely when talking about Lexus) with the sedan's styling this time around in hopes of reinventing its wallflower image.
Instead, take a look at the fenders on this prototype: The track is obviously wider than the current GS 350's, and if you click through the jump, you'll see that this impression holds around back as well. The wheelbase also appears to be longer, which should open up plenty of rear legroom in the 2012 GS -- important in this class now that the dominant players, the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, are downright huge.
Further, the widened track gives the Lexus GS prototype a more substantial look than the current car. Company officials have also said that the next GS will have more of a performance edge to it. Though we wouldn't want to draw too many conclusions from a couple of photos, widening the track is a good start.
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Look below. Can you spot certain differences? Apparently, there are two prototypes running around that look the same from the front and sides, but it gets interesting when you get around to the back. Notice the larger cut-out exhausts.
The front fenders also look to have a second 'flare' to them.
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"Who needs fame, and who needs fortune?
Cause I've got guts, and I've got glory.
We took a shot in the dark, and we might have failed.
This is our one chance."
Look below. Can you spot certain differences? Apparently, there are two prototypes running around that look the same from the front and sides, but it gets interesting when you get around to the back. Notice the larger cut-out exhausts.
so are you eluding to this being the gs-f? with the twin dual pipe exhaust?
i think they are just hiding external testing wires/sensors that normally just hang out exposed on test vehicles, and are usually around the wheels/fenders
i see the wire behind the front wheel at the bottom as it enters the car
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Clearly, both of these designs bor*row heav*ily from the CT, and I think there might be some truth to that. The front-end of the CT brings a num*ber of nicely shaped & aggres*sive design cues (par*tic*u*larly down around the fog*lights), and I wouldn’t be sur*prised at all to see some hint of the CT design in the new GS.
We've gotten word from a very reliable source that Toyota is planning two big debuts at the New York Auto Show, although neither is wearing a ToMoCo badge.
First up is a fully redesigned Lexus GS, something that we've reported on and spied before. Although it's unclear whether the GS we'll see in NYC is a concept or a production model, we do know that it will be underpinned by an all-new platform that will also be used on the next-generation IS, due out sometime next year.
To kick off the 2011 New York International Auto Show, it's our pleasure to invite you to the world debut of the Lexus LF-Gh concept car. We hope you can join us for this special evening event where you'll be among the first to see this unique concept that will present a glimpse into the future of Lexus design.
I can't wait!
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Last edited by Motor; 07-14-2011 at 08:37 AM..
Reason: dead image
Stylish and assertive concept advances notions of premium luxury
Concept explores Lexus' future direction; global design identity evolves
Aggressive and bold "spindle" front grille hints at new face of Lexus vehicles
Not gonna happen. They're super efficient, cheap, trendy, and long lasting. And if they do break, they're super expensive to replace!
LOL
Well they could atleast make them look better. Like making a fog light that looks normal and just has leds inside...possible? On the ft86 ii the headlights look like thats what they did for the projects so I assume it would work for fogs.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by XBernie
DC roads are pretty bad, my car wouldnt make it.
its the reason why the president just takes a helicopter everywhere.
-LF-Gh concept to make world debut at 2011 New York International Auto Show
-Stylish and assertive concept advances notions of premium grand touring sedan
-Concept explores Lexus’ future direction with aggressive and bold spindle-shaped front grille
Now that was a bit awkward...I'm sure some people were disappointed.
This is what my daughter thinks of it: zzzzzzzxnkkkkkiiint6ooooooooooooooookohymknjb e3eeeeeeeeee.
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Mas*ter pho*to*chop*per Theophilus Chin has put together his best esti*mate of what the next-generation Lexus GS could look like.
By blend*ing the LF-Gh with the other recent design cues we’ve seen with the refreshed 2011 IS and CT 200h, I think Chin has been able to hit very close to what we can expect to see with the next-generation GS.
Our trusty spy photographers have caught a Lexus GS prototype out on the Nürburgring, and its LF-Gh-inspired cues are clearly in evidence despite heavy camouflage.
Up front, the LF-Gh's squared-off headlights have translated over to this GS test mule, complete with LED daytime running lamps. Even the "aggressive and bold spindle-shaped front grille" from the concept looks to be intact, as are the upward curving detail lines that form the outline of the lower side air intakes in the front fascia.
BMW has the 6-Series Coupe, Audi has the A5/S5, and even Mercedes-Benz has an E-Class Coupe. So is it really that big of a stretch to consider that Lexus will offer a GS 350 Coupe soon after the 2013 GS 350 sedan's launch?
ON THE HANDLING COURSE
Lexus set up a coned course for us to explore the GS’ handling prowess -- and to compare it to the old car. We have considerable experience with the previous GS on autocross tracks, and that car always surprised us with its neutral handling and ultimate capability -- though it lacked any kind of feedback. Familiarization runs in a 2011 GS350 reminded us of that fact. It also reminded us about the GS’s loose rear end, sometimes sticking like glue, sometimes coming quickly unstuck when you didn’t expect it. In my notes, I wrote “She’s quick, but she’s a big ol’ mess.”
The 2012 GS demonstrates a marked improvement in handling, especially at the rear end, where a completely revised suspension offers predictable responses in all situations. The new GS earned a solid A on the autocross course, always willing to rotate and resisting understeer like a champ. Body lean, though visible in the photos, is controlled well enough that it’s all but imperceptible inside the car. And the new car’s dramatically quicker steering made tight curves far less work to navigate.
The new GS equipped with LDHS (Lexus Dynamic Handling System) was even better -- the active steering and rear-wheel steering combine to make the effective steering ratio even quicker, and thus equipped, the GS feels even more lithe. In quick transitions, you can feel the rear-wheel steering a half-beat behind, but such conditions are unlikely in the real world. The system is, like Infiniti’s, nearly transparent. The LDHS car was also equipped with upgraded brake pads, which were slightly less grabby than the base pads and allowed better modulation.
It should be said that both of the cars we drove wore summer tires (235/45-YR18 Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tires on the base GS; Bridgestone Potenza RE050As in 235/50-YR19 and 265/35-YR19 on the LDH-equipped car.) All-season tires, on eighteen-inch wheels, will be standard.
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 four-wheel steering bring 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 with the F-Sport, the mainstream GS is softer and has more body roll. After driving the F-Sport equipped with variable steering, the nonvariable rack-and-pinion feels slower. Then we drove the current GS and found it to be even less secure-feeling, with a heavily intrusive stability-control system.
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 six-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 first 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.
If this first blush is any indication, Lexus has done a very good job with the GS. It's now my even-more-favorite Lexus. Is it a 5 Series equal? Dynamically, probably not, but with the 5's move to more luxury – and with the Lexus being about 300 pounds lighter than a 535i with an auto 'box (estimated 3,638 pounds for the Lexus, 4,090 for the BMW) – it's actually reasonable to make a direct comparison now. And there's every chance it could have a better cabin. Compared to a Mercedes-Benz E 350? Yes on both counts, but that's a nearly pointless fight – no one thinks of the E 350 as a sports sedan, and it is more the brand argument Lexus is working to win against the Three-Pointed Star.
Nevertheless, with a little more power, lighter weight, better fuel economy, sharper reflexes and a gargantuan advance in handling (and babysitting) prowess, the 2012 Lexus GS already wins some of the most important and overdue arguments it will have with its toughest challengers: buyers. You'll get to weigh-in yourself in a couple of weeks, when the 2012 Lexus GS is unveiled at the Pebble Beach Concours de'Elegance in advance of a first-quarter launch next year.
Senior sources at Toyota’s premium brand say petrol-electric hybrids will remain central to Lexus’s range, but they also acknowledge the need to “broaden the appeal of the brand and make it more accessible — and we certainly haven’t given up on diesel”.
The frugal diesel engine will be introduced to the new GS in 2013. Lexus claims this model will start a “new direction” for the firm. It will be targeted mainly at fleets and pitched against big sellers, including the 520d.
Lexus has released a teaser photo showing the 2013 GS350 and, as we expected, the fourth-generation GS sedan is styled like the Lexus LF-Gh concept car that arrived at the 2011 New York auto show.
The new, wide-mouth grille is bisected by a horizontal bar and bordered by headlights with L-shaped LED running lights. The LF-Gh concept was a controversial look, and now seems that the production Lexus will follow that styling trend. Moreover, Lexus promises that all its future products will employ the same design language.
Lexus says the new car has been totally redesigned, with better driving dynamics and a roomier cabin. The company promises the GS will be far more appealing to mid-luxury sedan buyers. “Buyers in the mid-size luxury segment want a more engaging driving experience, styling that makes a statement,” said Lexus vice president Mark Templin.
The 2013 Lexus GS will make its first public appearance at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Thursday, August 18.
One of the questions raised by the 2013 Lexus GS teaser photo released last week was whether the bumper separating the upper and lower grilles would be blacked-out or the same color as the body — here’s a photochop from Auto Bild that takes a look at one of the two options.
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