2017 Lexus LS Prototype Spotted in Japan

Carmaker1

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A well-regarded Lexus commenter (UZJ100GXR), caught Japanese spy photos of a XF40 body (current LS) test mule for the next generation Lexus LS flagship in MAG-X. It is due in 2016 as a 2017 model year vehicle, but it has been shown already to Lexus global personnel in last 10 months, which points to a car that was already in its final design over a year ago and mostly designed by 2013.
XF50 mule.jpg
XF50 mule 2.jpg
It takes Lexus over 36 months to go from settling on a design, to when Job 1 rolls off assembly lines. The 2007 LS reached that point in late 2003 and was being accurately rendered by early 2004 (leaked in 2005).

As we all know, Lexus quietly extended the life-cycle of the 40-Series or 4LS, resulting in a more comprehensive, secondary facelift in October 2012 for MY2013. Such decisions to delay a new LS would've been made not long after Akio Toyoda assumed his current position in 2009, likely on the heels of the MY2010 refresh. The current version of the LS, XF40 III would've been signed off before the March 2011 natural disasters.

Recently Toyota trademarked "LS500h", which some are suggesting refers to V6 hybrid powerplant. In that case, an LS500 trademark is not too far behind either. LC500 and LC500h were also trademarked, so a standard powertrain for the US market will be a 5.0 litre V8.

The new modular platform will likely debut for RWD models on the 2017 LS. The design will hopefully be somewhat fresh to Lexus and unique, so that it sets a tone to follow for future Lexus models. One does not want a repeat of BMWs G11 7-Series, pretty much looking similar to the current BMW line-up and was originally described in June 2012 as a bigger F30 3-Series.

It would serve Lexus very well, to take note of the upcoming W222 S-Class facelift in 2017, which is rounding off the design process by now and will be in spy shots next year. The W221 S-Class facelift was designed by 2007 and launched in 2009 (as W222 was approved), so the timing fits my theory. The S-Class may be the trendsetter for this segment, but Toyota cannot miss this rare opportunity to make a grand slam.

What do you guys propose on a new LS or believe needs to be taken seriously on the upper end (well, flagship wise)? I know that a Fuel Cell variant is planned, but more than that suffices surely.
 

CIF

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Wow, great find, thanks! Toyota/Lexus mules always fascinate me, because there is so little that you can tell from them. Reminds me of the mules they had years ago for the 4th-gen LS, using 3rd-gen LS bodies at the time.

This mule pictured above certainly looks more wider than the current gen LS, and the width number mentioned in the article seems to back that up.

Also fascinating that despite using the current gen body as a mule, the front and rear still have intricate camouflage on. Even the mule body itself is wrapped all around in a layer of camouflage.
 
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krew

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krew
15-05-28-lexus-ls-test-mule-hero-400x200.jpg


A very awkward-looking next-generation Lexus LS test mule has been spotted by Japanese magazine MAG-X
View the original article post
 
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From the words of Mr. Lebron James "It's about damn time"

Know I know the next gen LS has been in development for years. But I'm glad that Lexus is actually almost done with the a Next gen LS. Time to start thinking what the interior will look like and what new technology will it have!
 
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Joe

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Very nice modern looking headlights... apparently they still have a large number of eighties parts in stock :D
 

IS-SV

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Very mule-like (and more of a hardware testing platform probably), to the point where I can't see a thing about future styling of LS.
 
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The design makes me disappointed. It reminds me of the previous generation ES. But it seems to be promising. The current gen was the most advanced car on road in 2007,2008. Lexus need to focus on new technologies. I hope there will be a 10-speed transmission, the return of automatic parking system, night vision, and the autonomous driving system(like the system on the CT6). Also, a new powertrain and a system like the Magic Body Control. Last week my uncle took me a ride in his 2015 S550 and it was just amazing! Hope Lexus can build a better car than the S-class. The S class's reliability is horrible! The 2016 BMW 7er is ugly and unimpressive, the CT6 is just bland and look so cheap, the XJ is super unreliable, the A8 sucks, so it is such a great opportunity for Lexus to gain customers from the Germans! But lexus really need to improve the design.
 
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It looks like the wheelbase is stretched, based on the rear length and cut out of the rear tire well. I'm excited now! Aiming for #1
 
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Joe

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The design makes me disappointed. It reminds me of the previous generation ES. But it seems to be promising. The current gen was the most advanced car on road in 2007,2008. Lexus need to focus on new technologies. I hope there will be a 10-speed transmission, the return of automatic parking system, night vision, and the autonomous driving system(like the system on the CT6). Also, a new powertrain and a system like the Magic Body Control. Last week my uncle took me a ride in his 2015 S550 and it was just amazing! Hope Lexus can build a better car than the S-class. The S class's reliability is horrible! The 2016 BMW 7er is ugly and unimpressive, the CT6 is just bland and look so cheap, the XJ is super unreliable, the A8 sucks, so it is such a great opportunity for Lexus to gain customers from the Germans! But lexus really need to improve the design.

Like IS-SV already pointed out and just to reassure you: this is just a 'mule', has absolutely nothing to do with the real thing. This mule's only purpose is to serve for the first on road testings of the future car's underpinnings. ;)
 
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Carmaker1

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Thanks krew, but I must honestly say, maybe the title should say "test mule" instead of "prototype". Nothing wrong with calling it prototype, as there are various stages of prototyping and this stage is very much one of them. It's just much easier if people can distinguish a "test mule"---that utilizes the incumbent generation's body shell---against a running test vehicle of the production design and packaged components in the form of a "prototype".

I can see some people casually expressing premature disappointment/puzzlement, even after all your efforts to clarify in the body of text below, that this is just a mule using the current LS body. This site is very good and highly accurate, so one is rarely confused when reading anything here. Actual 5LS prototypes have been running since last year, but not yet outside of high-security Lexus test facilities in Japan surely. I think this might be testing an alternative powertrain that may launch in 2017, some months after the petrol variants.

The final exterior design had to have been reached by late 2013, if not fully finalised then. 36 months from then to production is usually the time frame on such a large product and pretty much a typical pattern for the LS.

Akio Toyoda, as per the words of a well-regarded Lexus salesman and enthusiast, is "personally invested in this project" more than anything. It will be world-class apparently, but one hopes it holds true. This is the car that he is constantly chaffeured in (current LS600hL), so I am sure like Dr. Dieter Zetsche of Daimler AG did with the W222 S-Class, he wants something to his taste that he can enjoy day-in, day-out.

The LX being introduced in Japan this year, might also have to do with his own interests to a degree and wanting more than a Land Cruiser as an alternative. Mary Barra of GM is chauffeured in an Escalade daily, so it is not too shocking how that happened.

In my own work at my job, I have stressed this philosophy to any complacent superiors, on why our best offering must receive the highest possible level of investment, while not being a loss maker. Image building, conquest customers, absolute quality, and innovation.
 
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Carmaker1

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The design makes me disappointed. It reminds me of the previous generation ES. But it seems to be promising. The current gen was the most advanced car on road in 2007,2008. Lexus need to focus on new technologies. I hope there will be a 10-speed transmission, the return of automatic parking system, night vision, and the autonomous driving system(like the system on the CT6). Also, a new powertrain and a system like the Magic Body Control. Last week my uncle took me a ride in his 2015 S550 and it was just amazing! Hope Lexus can build a better car than the S-class. The S class's reliability is horrible! The 2016 BMW 7er is ugly and unimpressive, the CT6 is just bland and look so cheap, the XJ is super unreliable, the A8 sucks, so it is such a great opportunity for Lexus to gain customers from the Germans! But lexus really need to improve the design.
The ES? So the current LS looks like an ES and not the other way around? The next LS "is" already testing, but not outside of heavily guarded company test facilities. Unlike their European counterparts, Toyota does not tease development of their vehicles prematurely. Whatever it looks like design-wise, it was signed off a long time ago and this exact mule is testing a powertrain not due until mid-2017. The regular 2017 LS may surface in spy shots as an LHD prototype in the next few months.

I agree with much what you said though, the current generation was on top of the world during 2006-2008. I greatly disagree in your assertion of our XJ, as I do try to take an unbiased stance to things. Our X351 is not super unreliable, that is just an off-handed assumption. Being familiar with the incumbent model, very familiar with its replacement and new suppliers for that programme, one cannot just take isolated cases as a measure of quality issues across the board.
 

mmcartalk

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Good find, Carmaker1. :) Looks to me like the "L" long-wheelbase model. I can't imagine the standard version being that long. Perhaps they are planning a limo version of that for the Japanese market. But, as others here have also pointed out, it could also be a test-mule for something else.
 

mikeavelli

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Test mules many times use the body of an existing model but the platform, changes are all under the skin. I doubt it looks like this. From what I can gather, it will not be evolutionary.
 

CIF

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Thanks krew, but I must honestly say, maybe the title should say "test mule" instead of "prototype". Nothing wrong with calling it prototype, as there are various stages of prototyping and this stage is very much one of them. It's just much easier if people can distinguish a "test mule"---that utilizes the incumbent generation's body shell---against a running test vehicle of the production design and packaged components in the form of a "prototype".

I can see some people casually expressing premature disappointment/puzzlement, even after all your efforts to clarify in the body of text below, that this is just a mule using the current LS body. This site is very good and highly accurate, so one is rarely confused when reading anything here. Actual 5LS prototypes have been running since last year, but not yet outside of high-security Lexus test facilities in Japan surely. I think this might be testing an alternative powertrain that may launch in 2017, some months after the petrol variants.

The final exterior design had to have been reached by late 2013, if not fully finalised then. 36 months from then to production is usually the time frame on such a large product and pretty much a typical pattern for the LS.

Akio Toyoda, as per the words of a well-regarded Lexus salesman and enthusiast, is "personally invested in this project" more than anything. It will be world-class apparently, but one hopes it holds true. This is the car that he is constantly chaffeured in (current LS600hL), so I am sure like Dr. Dieter Zetsche of Daimler AG did with the W222 S-Class, he wants something to his taste that he can enjoy day-in, day-out.

The LX being introduced in Japan this year, might also have to do with his own interests to a degree and wanting more than a Land Cruiser as an alternative. Mary Barra of GM is chauffeured in an Escalade daily, so it is not too shocking how that happened.

In my own work at my job, I have stressed this philosophy to any complacent superiors, on why our best offering must receive the highest possible level of investment, while not being a loss maker. Image building, conquest customers, absolute quality, and innovation.

Some great points :).

I too expect a high level of excellence with this next-gen LS, due to Akio Toyoda's personal involvement in the project. Also his personal involvement in Lexus in general has me with raised expectations for the future of Lexus.

Production rims already?

I don't think those are the production rims, but I could be off.
 

Tinhinnh

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Thanks krew, but I must honestly say, maybe the title should say "test mule" instead of "prototype". Nothing wrong with calling it prototype, as there are various stages of prototyping and this stage is very much one of them. It's just much easier if people can distinguish a "test mule"---that utilizes the incumbent generation's body shell---against a running test vehicle of the production design and packaged components in the form of a "prototype".

I can see some people casually expressing premature disappointment/puzzlement, even after all your efforts to clarify in the body of text below, that this is just a mule using the current LS body. This site is very good and highly accurate, so one is rarely confused when reading anything here. Actual 5LS prototypes have been running since last year, but not yet outside of high-security Lexus test facilities in Japan surely. I think this might be testing an alternative powertrain that may launch in 2017, some months after the petrol variants.

The final exterior design had to have been reached by late 2013, if not fully finalised then. 36 months from then to production is usually the time frame on such a large product and pretty much a typical pattern for the LS.

Akio Toyoda, as per the words of a well-regarded Lexus salesman and enthusiast, is "personally invested in this project" more than anything. It will be world-class apparently, but one hopes it holds true. This is the car that he is constantly chaffeured in (current LS600hL), so I am sure like Dr. Dieter Zetsche of Daimler AG did with the W222 S-Class, he wants something to his taste that he can enjoy day-in, day-out.

The LX being introduced in Japan this year, might also have to do with his own interests to a degree and wanting more than a Land Cruiser as an alternative. Mary Barra of GM is chauffeured in an Escalade daily, so it is not too shocking how that happened.

In my own work at my job, I have stressed this philosophy to any complacent superiors, on why our best offering must receive the highest possible level of investment, while not being a loss maker. Image building, conquest customers, absolute quality, and innovation.

Some great points :).

I too expect a high level of excellence with this next-gen LS, due to Akio Toyoda's personal involvement in the project. Also his personal involvement in Lexus in general has me with raised expectations for the future of Lexus.

Production rims already?

I don't think those are the production rims, but I could be off.
Looks pretty nice for a tester..