The Japanese automaker Leuxs has just revealed details about the extended wheelbase 2010 LS 600h L Hybrid luxury sedan. The LS 600h has always been more about providing owners with the feel of a twelve cylinder engine while offering them a hybrid badged vehicle at the same time. For 2010 the LS 600h L receives a new exterior design complete with revised front fascia and a redesigned front grille and bumper, while out back the tail lamps now feature a distinctive blue tint. As usual, the Lexus flagship sedan doesn’t fall short on the technological side either.
The 2010 LS 600h L Hybrid is powered by a variant of Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive power train, a system that combines a 5.0 Liter gas burning V8 with two powerful electric motors and a large capacity battery pack. The hybrid unit generates a peak combined output rating of 438 HP and can move the LS 600h L from 0 to 60 MPH in a very sporty 5.5 seconds.
The 2010 LS 600h L benefits from numerous additional luxury amenities as well as technologies like a driver’s seat that now features a standard slide away feature that makes it easier to enter and exit the vehicle and a memory function to ensure that the bucket goes right back to the perfect spot. There is also a new LCD instrument cluster; the standard Lexus Navigation system employs new casual language recognition; Bluetooth phonebook capability and new music playing capability with the obligatory USB/iPod connectivity.
The Japanese luxury automaker Lexus is planning on unveiling the 2010 LS600h, in both standard and extended wheelbase version at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
The luxury hybrid LS600h features a new four bar grille and restyled front bumper with redesigned air intakes and foglamps. The headlamps have a new running light design and are finished in Lexus hybrid blue, giving the car a distinctive appearance befitting its flagship status.
The Lexus Hybrid Drive system has been revised to meet Euro V exhaust emissions standards, but with no change to the car’s performance: the combination of the 5.0-litre V8 petrol engine and 165kW electric motor produces a maximum 439bhp and 520Nm of torque, giving nought to 62mph acceleration in 6.3 seconds.
Auto shows are the perfect place for an car builder to get a feel for the market by showing off the best of what they have to offer and then judge how far the hoards of automotive enthusiasts’ jaw are hanging from the floor as they stare up at these beauties on a pedestal. So aside from the LexusLF Ch concept that we teased you with yesterday, the Japanese luxury automaker will also bring a few other new faces to the Frankfurt Motor Show in the form of a LS, a GS, an IS, and the almighty IS-F models fresh off the operating table.
The new LS600h will feature updates to the exterior as well as the desing of the interior with a new seating configuration, significantly updated equipment and enhanced driving dynamics. The 2010 GS model range features enhanced safety features, new exterior and interior colours while the GS 450h’s status as the model range flagship has now been further reinforced through several bespoke styling cues. The gas/electric Lexus GS450h remains the world’s only full hybrid model in the premium mid-size segment.
For the more compact IS model range, Lexus has added a few new features in the form of navigation and audio, two must have items for a desirable luxury car. The Japanese automaker is also offering a new F Sport trim package and the revised Lexus IS-F high performance sports sedan now comes equipped with a Limited Slip Differential. Although we are still waiting to see some more about the Evolution.
The SZ will separate itself from normal LS models by a pair of redesigned more aggressive front and rear bumpers as well as lower side sills. However the touch that sets the SZ apart from the rest of the LS sedans will be the black chrome grille. Keeping in line with the sporty theme, the sedan will also feature a Brembo high performance braking system and a set of stylish BBS alloy wheels.
According to the Japanese magazine, the car will be priced at around 9,000,000 yen (that’s about $95K). It seems like Lexus is trying to single handedly bring back the VIP trend with this factory hot rod. It appears that the LS wearing an SZ badge is nothing more than an appearance package with a nice set of shoes, but we are positive that a company like Lexus, with the racing history of Toyota, has something very special planed to go under the hood.
In 1989 Toyota launched something the world had never seen before, a Lexus. Six years earlier, Toyota Chairman Eiji Toyoda called a secret meeting where he posed the question, Can Toyota produce a luxury vehicle that is capable of taking on the best that the world, mainly Germany, has to offer? Immediately after the team of engineers, designers and marketing professionals commenced Toyota’s billion dollar F1 program. The result of their Flagship 1 program, the Lexus LS 400 was a luxury vehicle that would expand Toyota’s product line, securing the Japanese automaker a foothold in the premium automobile segment and provide both longtime Toyota and soon to be luxury car customers an upscale offering from Japan. That same year sales figures for the German luxury automobile manufacturers BMW and Mercedes-Benz dropped 29% and 19% respectively in the U.S. market. The luxury car was widely praised for its well-appointed and ergonomic interior, engine performance, build quality and value when it was introduced stateside with a very affordable $38,000 price tag.
Twenty years have passed and the Lexus LS is still being praised. The Japanese luxury car maker now operates its own design, engineering, and manufacturing centers, solely responsible for the production of Lexus vehicles. The model that started it all, the LS, is in its fourth generation and looking better than ever.
