Both this and HPS debuted alongside each other on February 9, 1997, pretty much production cars with some glitz added on (explains rapid "transition") compared to the LF-LC. I look forward to covering development of the 1RX from April 1993 to June 1997 in the coming weeks, as both the LS and RX have solid history.
For all the "bland" accusations towards Lexus of yore, I must admit as a kid back in 1997-1998, when the first sights of RX were appearing, I was quite intimidated by the design. It wasn't particularly pretty and was rather aggressive like the current RX. It was really the 2nd generation XU30, that went "tame" and lost the 4x4 two-tone look.
Found this interesting "concept" years ago, which was quite something else and a good
hint.