Production Lexus LF-LC Coming to Detroit Auto Show in January?

[krew]

krew

Lexus USA general manager Jeff Bracken spoke with Reuters during an industry conference in Michigan yesterday, where he dropped a major hint about what to expect at the Detroit Auto Show in January.

View the original article post

 

[RAL]

My question would be: how close is Lexus to an all-new TX (3-row) model? Lexus Advisory Board was extensively surveyed late last year concerning an all-new model. I remember in particular questions regarding preference for stylish vs. utilitarian rear roofline. Utilitarian would of course better serve 3-row. But if they are still asking questions, a production TX would seem to be in the distant future ...

Are we looking at an LS concept reveal in the Fall and an LF-LC production reveal in January? Wow!!!

 

[Lasse J. Nordvik]

Regarding a third-row RX: I can't shake the notion that I read somewhere that some Lexus-excec or other said that such a vehicle would follow about a year after the introduction of the base RX.

 

[mmcartalk]

Again, I hope not a repost (after a thread/title-search)...but an interesting story on a possible future, LS-based coupe flagship. Seems to me like it might go head to head with the Mercedes S-Class coupe, which is a true 2-door as opposed to the less-expensive CLS, which is called a coupe but is actually a 4-door.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20150805/OEM04/150809890/1129

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus brand is planning to launch a second top-of-the-line "flagship" model to accompany a new generation of its LS sedan, the head of the brand's U.S. operations told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We need a flagship. It doesn't have to be a sedan," Jeff Bracken, Lexus division general manager, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CAR Management Briefing Seminars.

Bracken would not say what type of vehicle the second flagship Lexus would be.

Last month, Automotive News reported that Lexus is readying a full-size coupe. Late last year, Lexus trademarked a pair of names: LC 500 and LC 500h. They are widely understood to be coupes based on the rwd LS sedan.

Sales of large luxury sedans such as the Lexus LS and BMW 7 series have slowed in recent years as affluent consumers have shifted toward luxury SUVs.

Rival luxury automakers have been winning customers with vehicles such as Tata Motors' Land Rover brand, the Cadillac Escalade from General Motors and large SUVs coming from the German luxury automakers.

Bracken: "We need a flagship. It doesn't have to be a sedan."

Photo credit: Greg Horvath

The SUV surge has prompted even luxury brands with no history of selling SUVs, such as BMW's Rolls-Royce, to develop models to compete in the super luxury SUV segment.

U.S. sales have been supported by a prolonged drop in gasoline prices. Average prices at the pump on Tuesday were $2.63, down 25 percent from a year ago, according to the AAA travel group.

"In addition to the LS (a large sedan), there could be another flagship in our lineup," Bracken said. "We'll define what it is in January."

Lexus also is looking to strengthen its SUV lineup by offering a version of the midsize RX SUV with a third row seat. An RX with room for seven or eight passengers is the No. 1 request from U.S. Lexus dealers, Bracken said.

A new RX is due this fall but will not have a third row seat.

"We don't want to wait for a next generation" to add the extra seating row, Bracken said.

 

[RAL]

Regarding a third-row RX: I can't shake the notion that I read somewhere that some Lexus-excec or other said that such a vehicle would follow about a year after the introduction of the base RX.

me too ...

 

[IS-SV]

Cool possibility and good article. Big coupes make for a sexy flagship.

(Not sure why comment about CLS was added, not being a Benz flagship, not full-sized or based on full-sized S-class platform, NA).

 

[mmcartalk]

Cool possibility and good article. Big coupes make for a sexy flagship.

(Not sure why comment about CLS was added, not being a Benz flagship, not full-sized or based on full-sized S-class platform, NA).

I guess we'll have to wait and see whnt the pricing structure is on the news big coupe (assuming they actually put one into production). I simply mentioned the CLS because, even though not a flagship, it's priced a little closer (around 70K) to the existing Lexus LS460 than the S-Class Coupe, which starts at almost 120K. (though the S-Class coupe is not that far off the LS600h's price). But, you're right...further speculation is not needed until we actually see production prices.

This wouldn't be the first big coupe flagship of a manufacturer by any means. (Buick Riviera, Olds Toronado, Ford Thunderbird, Cadillac ElDorado, Lincoln Mark Series, etc....) But big coupes were generally neglected for a number of years because the market for them, true or false, was not considered good in the U.S.

 

[KOHIPEET]

On what platfrom will the LC be built? TNGA, or the next generation CT will be the first Lexus built upon that new architecture?

 

[CIF]

Are we looking at an LS reveal in the Fall and an LF-LC reveal in January? Wow!!!

Currently, it looks as though signs are pointing to a possible LS concept in the Fall, and production LC in January. It looks like we won't see production LS for a while.

On what platfrom will the LC be built? TNGA, or the next generation CT will be the first Lexus built upon that new architecture?

TNGA is a concept for next-generation platforms, it in itself is not a platform.

With that said, the LC is rumored to be built on the next-gen LS platform, which will be a TNGA platform. According to what we know about TNGA, the next-gen Prius is supposed to be the first vehicle to debut on a TNGA platform. From there, I would expect all future Toyota and Lexus vehicles to debut on TNGA platforms.

 

[Black Dynamite]

BTW, I've made some phone calls and talk to some sources, and the 3-row TX is being fast-tracked to a launch within the next 18 months.

This ties in with what Bracken was hinting at, in not waiting on a 3-row RX redesign.
BD

 

[Levi]

BTW, I've made some phone calls and talk to some sources, and the 3-row TX is being fast-tracked to a launch within the next 18 months.

This ties in with what Bracken was hinting at, in not waiting on a 3-row RX redesign.
BD

Will the TX be based on new RWD monocoque platform or body on frame or be FWD based on Highlander as some rumors suggest?

 

[Carmaker1]

Thank you for this article, as jumped right to it. I read these articles well before many of you yesterday morning, instantly knowing that it concerned the LC. Wish that much of pthe media knew how to use their noggins and put two-and-two together and realise how previous have pointed towards this.

My question would be: how close is Lexus to an all-new TX (3-row) model? Lexus Advisory Board was extensively surveyed late last year concerning an all-new model. I remember in particular questions regarding preference for stylish vs. utilitarian rear roofline. Utilitarian would of course better serve 3-row. But if they are still asking questions, a production TX would seem to be in the distant future ...

Are we looking at an LS reveal in the Fall and an LF-LC reveal in January? Wow!!!

The design for a TX would be approved by now, being possibly RWD and on the new platform. I still am taking the RX-L story with a grain of salt, until further confirmation. I don't really trust the original source, as they keep calling the LC, the "next SC".

From what I remember, Lexus does not like playing with rushed development anymore and needs something ready at least 2 years ahead of production commencement. A TX, being a large vehicle, would need 30-38 months from concept to production. It sounds like, the concept design had been drafted by late 2014, but no sign-off until feedback on D-Pillar shape. That's a mid-late 2017 introduction.

The LS currently is reported to launch or start production in Japan in May 2017, meaning Lexus better have mildly refreshed it for MY2016, as it will be practically 11 years by then old. I can bet, that the LS will not be unveiled in production form, but more along the lines of an LF-LS. No other name for such a concept would make sense. The LS concept will be thinly veiled, hopefully with an interior showing. Some Lexus executives have already claimed it will not be shown as a production car this year, as it would be too far out. The LC in January is the next production unveiling and will go on sale a year later

 

[DoingDamage]

LS - Flagship Sedan
LF-LC - New SC - Flagship Coupe??
LX - Flagship SUV??

3 top of the line vehicles coming out in the next 2 yrs? Plus a redesigned RX, one of their best selling vehicles, after the introduction of a new vehicle (NX) in 2015. Plus a GS F. Plus a TX?

Plus a Hoverboard???

 

[Wicus Kriel]

LS - Flagship Sedan
LF-LC - New SC - Flagship Coupe??
LX - Flagship SUV??

3 top of the line vehicles coming out in the next 2 yrs? Plus a redesigned RX, one of their best selling vehicles, after the introduction of a new vehicle (NX) in 2015. Plus a GS F. Plus a TX?

Plus a Hoverboard???

LOL! Since it's not production-ready as yet, should we refer to the hoverboard as the LF-HB?

 

[mikeavelli]

A RX-L would likely do good in China too.....