Lexus LS 400 Hooning with Fifth Gear

Posted by Kevin on July 6th, 2010

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.

Lexus LS: First GenerationUnited KingdomVideos
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Comments
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    Joe
  • July 6, 2010
i will always go to top gear for my viewing needs. keep Fifth gear on the bottom. See they only have five gears and Top Gear will always be on top!!!
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    lexusjoe
  • July 6, 2010
that is almost sacreligous...what a waste of an absolute CLASSIC Car! Probably in the top 10 of Most Innovative and "Game Changing" cars of all time. (ok maybe top 20). This would be the equivalent of smashing a 1950's/early 60's Fender Stratocaster.
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    WorldofLuxury
  • July 6, 2010
Krew: if you hated the burnout too, then... I'm guilty :P My LS 400 had the VVT-i update so it had nearly 300bhp and exactly 300Lb.-ft of torque :D It was engine of the year from 1998-2000, the run of the facelifted, second-generation Lexus LS 400.
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    WorldofLuxury
  • July 6, 2010
Btw, the video is misleading. The American IIHS finally decided to crash a manufacture's mid-size sedan with its small car. Apparently, laws of physics still wins. Also, the SMART car is not a car; it's scary it can survive a high-speed crash while the passengers can't - the human organs cannot stand the high levels of g-force, even with the help of pretension-seatbelts and airbags. I thought Fifth Gear themselves made that very statement. Finally, some might say that technology continues to improve in the small cars, but I rebut with the fact that the larger cars get better and safer too. I might break a toe or crack a few ribs in my LS 400, but at least I'll survive in a crash.
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    Josh
  • July 6, 2010
I want to hear what is on that Lexus CD that was inspired by perfection. lol
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    RDS
  • July 6, 2010
Fifth Gear & Top Gear now are fair , they both destroy a LS400 before . haha
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    Eljay
  • July 7, 2010
To put it quite bluntly:I would not spit on a British auto journalist if he caught on fire.
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    seal
  • July 7, 2010
LEXUS CT-Ubra !! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAMvPD13bec
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    Travis
  • July 7, 2010
: ( I would take it off their hands.... I mean really...They couldnt find a cheaper beat up car to crash into ? I dont see why they would destroy a car that works. But 2 years and it started ? W O W thats really amazing. I remember my older sis left her 2006 corolla park in my garage for a few mouths...maybe 2 or 3. When she came back for the car surprise surprise it didn't start. Lexus built the LS400 extremely well... Even tho Toyota/Lexus are going thru some issues at the moment im sure they will get back on their feet.
G
That particular presenter makes your skin crawl. Tiff & Co. owe it to the show to can him.
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    toyotaholic
  • July 7, 2010
Let's give him an un-gentleman like farewell
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    LEXUSBOY
  • July 12, 2010
The Fifth Gear show is fine with Needell & Ford giving some good reviews, but this guy is a total a**, I really dislike that man. What he did to the LS which has now become a collector's item is pure sacrilege, What a dou*** bag.
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    nabeel
  • August 3, 2010
what a bunch of morons, i know that the scrap-page laws make these old things not economically viable, but for heavens sake, why a clean, nice, working car? for a crash like that, just get a water damaged car or one with no engine from the junk yard. someone could have REALLY benefitted from a nice complete car like that or even just for spares. P.S. the guys a moron! johhny i mean, cant seem to find anyone that likes him and he is imitating james may when it comes to older cars. side burns are out!!!
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    nabeel
  • August 3, 2010
long live the LS400! :P :-P
L
well top gear fith gear all suck total rubbish they only review cars no one can buy on normal money and pointless crapy tests. what a pity about that lexus never mind i sure that muppet enjoyed destroying a good car. someone could have used still on his wages like that p---k clarkson.!!!!! they dont live in the real world. so what the f--k do they know. the best tv shows are on the discovery channel anyhow like wheeler dealers autotrader . mike brewer is the man...
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    Someguycalledmichael
  • April 22, 2011
Johnny Smith - you're a f#*kin' stooge.
  • Anonymous
  • May 21, 2011
That freak Johnny Smith is a real Rat B****** ! All his reviews in Fifth Gear suck but then again so does the entire show! Top Gear is infinitely better. How dare he desecrate that beloved original LS400, which is now a classic & a collector car. Somebody should do a burnout on his ugly mug!