Lexus LS: 1st Generation News & Information

To celebrate Lexus’ 20th anniversary, Club Lexus member Encore888 created a desktop wallpaper showcasing the four generations of the LS:

For comparison, there was a similar wallpaper featured last year, though with this head-on angle, it’s much easier to see how each generation built on the previous design.

Great work! (Thanks Dan!)

[Source: Club Lexus]

Lexus Chile has honored me by featuring my LS 400 in their history timeline:

My photo:

I’m not entirely sure why my ‘94 LS is filed under 2001, but you won’t catch me complaining.

Top Gear was in top form for the start of their eleventh season last night, turning a very entertaining episode that managed to squeeze a ‘93-‘94 Lexus LS 400 into their first challenge of the year. Each presenter had to choose a sub-£1000 used car that could replace the Vauxhall Astra as the British Police car. Hilarity ensues:

I wonder if James May was influenced by Tom Ford’s modification of the LS 400 for his Fifth Gear review of the LS 460?

The latest in Youtube user bajabusta‘s trip down the Motorweek memory lane is this comparison test between the Lexus LS 400, BMW 740i, Mercedes 400E, Infiniti Q45 & Cadillac STS, divided into two parts:

The Mercedes 400E seemed out of place in the comparison until some research showed that a 1993 S-Class started at $69,900, $13,500 over the most expensive car here (which, ironically, is the Mercedes 400E).

Considering that fifteen years have passed since these cars were brand new, it still amazes me just how timeless that first LS design really is. The rest of these cars have a very dated look.

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Bonus: One other Motorweek segment of note is this footage from the 1992 Tokyo Motor Show, which shows a brief look at the newly introduced Toyota Aristo (otherwise known as the first-gen Lexus GS 300):

Every once and a while, a classic Lexus LS 400 clip will show up on Youtube, showing the car up against its competitors, and it always amazes me just how throughly Lexus thought out their first model. Here we have a 1990 video clip from Top Gear, putting the LS 400 up against the Mercedes 420SE, Jaguar 4.0, and the BMW 735i:

To think that the Mercedes cost £4000 more than the LS 400, and didn’t even come with air conditioning or a radio (mind you, it was the long-wheelbase version). I’ve read that the luxury brands at the time were fairly complacent, but I had no idea of the extent.

It’s hard to discount the power of Youtube when you can watch a 1989 episode of Top Gear detailing the introduction of the then-newly released Lexus LS 400 (jump ahead to 1:26 to get there directly):

Not a full-on review, which is a slight disappointment, but the praise is astounding, let me quote presenter Tiff Needell:

“The power from the big 32-valve V8 engine comes on as smoothly as the Jaguar, which is saying something. The ride is certainly as good as the Mercedes 420, and the handling on these winding mountain roads is at least the equivalent of a BMW.”

I imagine, when comparing the handling to a BMW, he’s referring to the 7-series.