New Lexus LS Concept teased ahead of Tokyo debut

Lexus has started to tease what they’e calling a “Vision of progressive luxury” ahead of a Tokyo Motor Show debut. It previews the next generation LS.

It’s 26 years since the Lexus LS first arrived and turned the luxury car market upside down, with stunning build quality in a car that took the fight to the Mercedes S Class by, some would say, plagiarising and improving it.

It’s also almost a decade since the current – fourth generation – LS arrived, so it’s certainly time for the LS to move in to its fifth incarnation – which is what this tease seems to be all about.

Lexus aren’t declaring this tease is for a concept version of the next generation LS (they’re simply calling it “…the company’s vision of progressive luxury”), but it’s almost certain it is, and that it will move things forward for Lexus with a more edgy design that could polarize opinion.

Aimed at the Mercedes S Class, Audi A8 and BMW 7 Series, the new LS will need to be special to make its mark, although a quarter of a century of building bullet-proof luxury cars has garnered the LS a loyal following, not just in America but also in markets like China.

Expected to be offered with both a conventional V8 petrol engine – delivering something around 450bhp – as well as the de rigueur – for a Lexus – hybrid powerplant, which could be both a plug-in and powerful. Rumours suggest it could deliver up to 550bhp.

All will be revealed in Tokyo next week.