LIFE BY LEXUS 22


O


ne of the hallmarks of the Lexus brand is the ability to convert concept vehicles into production models, delivering “in-the-flesh” examples of cars


originally used to showcase technology that seemed light years away from reality at the time. The list of world firsts for the brand


is staggering, including the world’s first V8 hybrid (LS 600h), the first full hybrid luxury SUV (RX 400h), the world’s first full hybrid luxury hatchback (CT 200h) and the first mass-produced rear-wheel drive luxury hybrid (GS 450h). The first-ever standard fitment of satellite navigation was to the 1998 LS 400 and the world’s first eight-speed automatic transmission was fitted to the 2006 LS 460. The LS 600h’s “Climate Concierge”


system, a world first which uses infra-red sensors to monitor the facial temperature of everyone on board, must have seemed as fanciful as the 2018 concept LF-1 Limitless’s “Chauffeur mode”, which allows for completely hands-free operation, but Lexus engineers have developed a track record of translating imaginative innovation into everyday luxury.


LEXUS UX The 2016 concept version of the Lexus UX,


which subsequently made its production debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show, was heralded as the brand’s vision of a compact SUV for “urbanites of the future”. In the concept vehicle, the driver’s


instrument panel housed a transparent globe that appeared to float, hologram-like, sharing a combination of analogue and digital information. It featured advanced technology, such as electrochromatic windows and slim e-mirror camera housings instead of conventional door mirrors. The production model harnesses a traditional Japanese concept that blurs the boundary between a home’s exterior and interior to bring the concept’s “inside out” vision to life. In the concept model, a “see-through” A-pillar communicated the message of transparency through the use of polycarbonate fins attached to an aluminium member; in the production model, the upper section of the instrument panel appears to extend beyond the windshield, giving the driver an excellent field of vision and a clear sense of the vehicle’s dimensions, while the bonnet appears to connect directly to the instrument panel, through the windshield. The feel of the concept car’s futuristic


kinetic seat is brought to life in the production model by the optional leather upholstery, which takes cues from sashiko, a customary Japanese quilting technique also used for judo and kendo martial arts uniforms. Bold exterior styling cues like the full-width 120-LED tail-lights are inherited from the concept.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101