Lexus LS: 1st Generation

Here’s a neat story from blogger Mike CJ that combines the first-ever UK Lexus LS 400, Twitter and a whole heap of coincidence — here’s a quote but I recommend reading the full article:

Way back in 1990, I was still in my 20’s and had recently been appointed to a role as a Training Manager at Toyota GB in Surrey. Ice, Ice Baby was at number one, Nelson Mandela had been set free and we were still marvelling that the Berlin Wall had come down the previous year.  I loved my job, and it was a fabulous time to be working for Toyota, as we were preparing to launch a whole new luxury car brand onto the UK market – Lexus.

When I heard that the [first LS 400] had arrived, I almost ran down the stairs to find it in one of our training bays. It was dark metallic green with tan leather.

It’s probably quite hard to imagine the impact that first LS 400 had back in 1990.

I’ve often considered buying an old Jensen, so I did what we all do. I Google’d “Classic cars UK” to see what was available and how much one would cost. I clicked on the site that came up number one, and looked at several examples.

With my dream Jensen in mind, I absentmindedly scrolled through the menu and was surprised to see Lexus amongst the Morgans and Lotus’.

Great to see Lexus GB buying a little bit of its history — I wonder what kind of story that LS could tell?

20 years is a long time, but the LS has this “timelessness” about it, and has aged so well. I may be bias, but it’s still a great looking car.

(Note: The picture above is not the same LS in the article, hard to find a dark green pre-1993 update LS 400.)

[Source: Mike's Life]

I’m pretty sure no one ever expected to see a Lexus LS 400 painted up like this:

This is the General Lee(xus), and it has quite an interesting story — turns out this old LS is an entry into Bangers4BEN, a charity event in the UK for “helping the automotive and related industries provide care and support for employees and their dependants in times of need”.

Here’s the event details:

Firstly, buy an old banger for no more than £500 and make sure you get a receipt to show this (it can cost more or less and you’ll realise why in a minute). You must then drive it all the way to Monaco and back, and finally enter it in our special auction where all the cars are sold in aid of BEN (now you see why we don’t mind you spending more than £500 on the car).

The LS will be driven by Phil Huff, and you can donate to his Bangers4BEN entry here. If you’d like to know more about Bangers4BEN, I recommend checking out the event homepage.

(Another fact about this LS: It’s one of the two LS 400s featured in Jeremy Clarkson’s Thriller DVD. Try and guess which one.)

[Source: CIMA Racing]

Just before using it as a prop in a Fifth Gear segment, presenter Jonny Smith decided to give this LS 400 a most un-Lexus-like farewell:

A twenty-year-old car that sat untouched in a barn for two years and started up no problem — and this is how it’s rewarded:

That’s just plain sad.

This week’s Autocar review of a 1990 LS 400 reminded me of a desktop wallpaper I’ve had sitting on my computer for quite some time:

I had featured a very similar image some time back, which still stands as one of my favorite Lexus desktop wallpapers of all time — here it is again:

The transition from that first generation LS 400 through to the LS 460 is dramatic, but there’s a clear & natural progression that brings the LS a striking continuity. I would love to find similar images of all the Lexus models.

[Source: Lexus UK]

In a nod to their 20th anniversary in the UK, Lexus put automotive journalists behind the wheel of an old LS 400 at the annual Society of Motor Manufacturers Test day.

Purchased off eBay, the LS 400 had 103,000 miles on the odometer and still plenty of life — here’s a quick review from Autocar:

[...]yacht-hits-swell body-roll and steering that simultaneously fascinates and alarms with its level of tactile disconnection made for plenty of torrid amusement through the bends, further enhanced by quite pronounced line-tightening on throttle lift-off that I don’t remember when they were new.

The man from Lexus reckoned it needed some new wishbone bushes and attention to the steering gear. But there appeared to be little else wrong with this car, which was rattle-free, calmingly quiet and convincingly pulled by its fabulously smooth 242bhp 4.0 V8.

As a LS 400 owner (110,000 miles), I’m remorselessly bias toward this vehicle — it’s an absolute classic and a luxury car milestone.

[Source: Autocar Photo: Richard Aucock]

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]