New Lexus LS to Debut This Year?

Perhaps the V6 hybrid will be another second one as the 2013 GS got 2 hybrids 450h & 300h

no i think we will see both in order to boost more LSh's the LS600h & LS600hL will remain but with tweaks on the engine that all plus the new LS450h

It should grow an inch or two outside, nothing more.   The interior will always grow at least a couple of inches..... BD

Agreed. If it grows 2-3 inches then it would match the S Class & 7 series. The powertrain needs to be on par with those two. 

I'm not worried about the powertrain.  It's the power-to-weight ratio that is important.  The Germans are 2-300 lbs heavier, so the Lexus doesn't need to match HP ratings, just stay in the ballpark, with enough low-end torque. The Mercedes and BMW have shown their cards as far as their HP war is concerned.  A 400HP LS with a 2-300 weight advantage should be just fine...... BD

Fair enough, you convinced me to be open to that view. LS has such a beautiful interior just a bit worried they might cram a ton of tech-stuff. The next one might actually be heavier than the current.  #Imjustsaying. 

The only consistent rumor over the past few years about the Next LS is it will go on diet, for better acceleration, handling and fuel efficiency. I would expect at least 100 pounds on the standard SWB/LWB cars..... BD

Actually there are many people who buy these cars that care about gas mileage. I have an LS460, but if Lexus offered a V6 LS or something even smaller, I'd opt for that. I'm getting Lexus luxury but have to spend less time at the filling stations.

Hmmm.. The Lexus ES is pretty much a V6 LS.. GS & IS are the sporty LS & ES are for comfort oriented people.. Although the LS is FR like the GS & IS

The New LS is usually delivered to market in October, the traditional start of the model year BD

 It is possible that this is a 2014 model year vehicle and not a 2013. Something tells me I just saw the absolutely unchanged 2013 model for sale somewhere, but I'm not sure. In 1994 that didn't happen as it went on sale on November 15, 1994 and in 1989, September of that year. A little deviation from tradition might occur this time.

Yeah, why would he lie about the new LS when you are in the market so close to it's arrival...... BD

The current car looks much better than the competition. That's how Toyota does new cars in general.  Every 5 years, and evolutionary redesign.  Every 10 years, a revolutionary redesign BD

Since when was the L-Finesse based USF40/XF40 an evolutionary redesign to the LS430? The LS430 was revolutionary in early January 2000 and so was the current LS when it was first exposed in August 2005, five and half years later. All I have to say to them is good luck with beating the MB W222 on "minimal changes", as it's likely more innovative like the 1992 W140 was in an effort to replace the discontinued Maybach. Better be a very well done evolutionary redesign and not a repeat of the 1995-1997 UCF20, or except bad results

 Correction: "expect bad results".

They screwed up the LS430 so much, the revolution there was make it look like a giant 1997 Avalon, they had to start from scratch with a new design, and that started L-Finesse The new S-Class is online already, inside and out, and it's very nice, but it's design won't set the world on fire.   It'll have a 9-speed, just because Lexus owned them last time.   And the real innovation will be all the models it will come in. BD

As a kid in the 1990s, I wondered why the second gen LS and the Avalon seemed so similar to each other, then when the '01 LS430 practically embodied the greenhouse of the 2000 Avalon I started to think it was the Toyota version of the LS. You're right about L-Finesse, as when development started on the current model back in '01, it was born. It's only because the IS and GS were older designs, that they benefited from it first. The new S-Class is possibly introducing technologies that will likely trump the LS, but at the same time is evolutionary like the LS(XF50) will be. Then again I drive a Mercedes, so maybe I'm biased a bit. I hope for their sake Lexus ups their game again and doesn't rest on their laurels like some are claiming.

You don't spend 10 years, and lose billions of dollars, building the LFA to rest on your laurels. Forget the 20 years of quality awards for the LS.  If the LFA just existing doesn't show how seriously Lexus takes building great cars, I don't know what would...... BD

True. Don't get me wrong, I'm not the average pro-German-above-everything car owner. I was just rather disappointed to hear from some folks here that there were going to be minimal changes in the form of a significant facelift. I am rather annoyed by that as it's always interesting to see what Lexus will bring to the table with their flagship vehicle and I would hate for them to not impress like they did with the new GS. I'm very familiar with the LS, as a lot of relatives and family friends have owned one and still do. My parents have never bought a LS on what I can attribute absurdly to prestige(on my mother's part, BMW-obsessed), but yet they have a fantastic LX570 overseas. I simply have always admired the effort that was put into the LS models to make them so bulletproof reliable and competitive in such a short amount of time. That is unlike Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and to a lesser extent, Infiniti, which have sent us back and forth to the dealership, that we know all the service personnel on a first name basis. This has never happened with my sister, as she can basically count on her fingers how many times she's gone to any of the local Lexus service centers since 2007. Both her '08 RX400h and her '11 IS350C, boast of being trouble-free cars. I would've gotten a IS350 in 2007 instead of a G35S, if it came in a 6-speed manual and had the F-Sport package back then. They make great cars and from the results of the new GS & the LFA, I want them to keep that momentum going. Sorry about the length of my post.

Take a thorough look at the interior of the LS460, current LS since 2005.. Better then all of Germany combined http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Lexus_LS600hL_01.JPG

I've driven and ridden in both two of my aunts' LS600hLs and from time to time my mother's '11 760Li, so I'd say the LS interior is less teutonic and a bit more calming, while the 7 has better materials. I guess that isn't a fair comparison, as an Individual model isn't the same as a regular 760 and wouldn't compare to a stock 600hL. The first 600hL('08) I rode in didn't have the executive seating package, but I have been in the other one('11) that did and loved the rear ottoman. I'd say that is the biggest winning point. As for Audi, my dad(a longtime Jaguar XJ owner) bought a A8L W12 several months ago and I can say it tops the interior materials of both the Lexus and BMW. It seems to bring the best features of the 600hL and 760Li together, plus more(pano sunroof). The only things are that like the BMW, it feels more cluttered upfront than the LS and the rear right footrest is useless, unless there is no passenger upfront, so pretty much the LS wins again in that department. I don't really like the current S-Class(W221), as the design never really appealed to me and it seems like the Maybach was holding it back. The facelift in '09 did make it better, but that itself wasn't enough for me. I do look forward to its W222 replacement this year, but anyway back to Lexus. Many say the LS interior is plain and boring, but I think it's just right and it has excellent simplicity for the controls. Its not as if the materials are cheap or non-premium, as they aren't, but I feel they can do a little better(hopefully they will).

 Sorry about the super long paragraph, I forgot to separate them.

Just to clarify, the ISC F Sport is just a different version of the current ISC. The current IS sedan is being produced until March next year suggesting a launch of 3IS around June/July. I would imagine the ISC will be sold in its current form for another couple of years, as it was released in 09 and will allow Lexus to stagger the releases.

A summer 2013 launch of the next IS is what I've heard too.

what man this is stupid then only a refresh with a spindle and some tweaks??

 I have not heard anyone say they have seen the whole final design unclothed and comment on it. Some should remember who they do not work for(Lexus HQ) and not make baseless claims to mislead us.

IF the 600hL continues, the 5200+ pounder WILL go on a diet, starting with losing the standard AWD. NO LS should weigh over 4700 pounds, including hybrids (The GS450h is around 4150 lbs) Dropping hundreds of pounds of weight will improve economy and acceleration...... BD

Perhaps the new LS will benefit from weight saving tech from the LFA?

Not even a question. But that will be one of the reasons for the higher price. More premium materials will be used...... BD

What I was referring too

The LS already has a trunk closer and door closers...... BD

They've even had them since the '01 LS430. They adopted that technology I think in 1998 for it after the design was frozen and were only second to Mercedes-Benz to offer it, as BMW didn't do so until the E65 in November 2001.