Exactly. We were all lead to believe that as 5LS was signed off before LF-FC concept, and that LF-FC concept had a much higher reaction than that of the 5LS, that the 5LS would be refreshed quickly to take into account a lot more of the design language of the LF-FC.
What happened in reality was that they released that LS+, which looks worse than the 5LS IMO, and then it totally died a death very quickly in terms of buzz. It's like it never happened now. When the Mirai was shown, my jaw hit the floor, because in my view that was the LS+ but made production car and for Toyota. Bizarre.
I have never considered the LS+ to be related to the GS, but thinking now, I agree there could be links there. At first, the 5LS was uniquely styled but when the ES launched, I was pretty deflated to see it was basically a 5LS without the mesh grill but remarkably similar in many other ways. It robbed some of the speciality of the 5LS. And now the GS is to follow in very similar footsteps too.
As for LF-1, I think I made comment on that over on its own thread. It's just another example of Lexus's absolutely murderously slow transition from concept to production. Someone made comment that the NX concept and production car were a little over a year apart. If we are lead to believe that Lexus has the production car 95% ready, shows the concept, and then produces what they had planned all along, then why on Earth are we 4 months into 2020 almost without even a hint of a production LF-1. Meanwhile, Audi Q8, refreshes to that hideous Benz offering and BMW X6 have all happened. It's just frustrating to see.
I don't think that it helped at the time of Tokyo 2017 that we all believed GS would be redesigned 18 months later in 2019 and therefore the LS update would also take after that design language in 2020-21 for more unity. I found it peculiar that the 7ES did not take after that LS+ design language, then remembered it had been signed off in early 2016 in regards to exterior design. It plainly borrowed from the incoming 5LS for conservative approach.
The first time I saw anything regarding that radical design language was in March 2016, in this below. It was so random, I almost wrote it off as scary looking and overwrought clickbait, yet so hot in F guise:
@mikeavelli hadn't seen the 2019 ES, but even already commented on it per some Lexus associates at Fuji, the very month suspension of GS development occurred. October 2016. 5LS was nearly 2 years into prototype testing, so done deal. LF - FC now 1 year old (2015 TMS), but origins 2 years old.
Then came LS+ in late 2017 and my jaw dropped bit. How in the hell did an UNOFFICIAL rendering drawn in early 2016 PREVIEW an official design released by Lexus nearly 2 YEARS later? Why did it exist? Why abandon LF-FC for this random show vehicle?
Then this comes along another 2 years later and
@Gecko saying it all. That's the 5GS LOL.
All absolutely just wild, how similar they are and look nothing else like any other Toyota product except the triangular elements of LC Coupe on the front end. It just said more than enough. Anyone who dismisses what
@Gecko said, (which is none of us here), I really don't know what to tell you lol. That seems the case on many other websites.
The only new Lexus that comes close to this design language is the LF-1, yet Mirai wears it too. That's a Lexus y'all. Imagine if that also came in petrol grades. Avalon would be nearly redundant.
Back to LS, as during the design process for the 7ES, it was favored to make it look like a mini LS. I think I could provide some insight on that in another thread. The styling effort of 7ES from 2014 to 2016.
The LS will do what going forward? Take after the LF-FC to embellish the design more as extremely elegant, versus avant-garde? Become the flag bearer of the radical design language planned for 2020 GS and align with future LF-1? Or evolve existing XF50/5G LS cues with little to no difference?
