Lexus celebrates 30 years with special LS

LEXUS is celebrating three decades since its global launch with a special Inspiration edition of the latest LS luxury limousine –a direct descendant of the model that started it all –just 10 of which will come to Australia.

The LS Inspiration carries a $3390 premium over the Sports Luxury flagship variant on which it is based, priced at $198,922 plus on-road costs for the twin-turbo V6-powered LS500 and $199,505 plus on-roads for the hybrid LS500h.

It features bespoke 20-inch ‘Dark Vapour’ alloy wheels and shares its Khaki Metal exterior paint finish with the similarly exclusive LC Inspiration sportscar announced last month, with other hues for the limited-run LS comprising Sonic Quartz, Liquid Metal and Scarlet Crimson.

The cabin is furnished with a dashboard trim panel inspired by the Japanese Kiriko glass-cutting handicraft with a ‘30th Anniversary’ motif included in the blue-backlit engraving.

Chestnut-coloured semi-aniline leather upholstery is matched to ‘Nobel Brown’ door coverings and intricately laser-etched walnut trim around the doorhandles and centre console.

Lexus has used the LS Inspiration to introduce upgrades to the limousine line-up’s standard driver assistance and safety systems, as well as improvements to its air suspension set-up.

The lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise control now automatically reduce the car’s entry speed to corners, while autonomous emergency braking is enhanced to avoid or mitigate low-speed impacts with static objects and moving vehicles when manoeuvring at less than 15km/h in forward or reverse gear.

Smoother body control and flatter cornering are promised by a redesign of the adaptive variable air suspension to make each corner extend and compress more independently, backed by recalibrated damping.

In addition, the LS500 gets liquid-filled rear suspension mounts rather than rubber, which Lexus claims reduces body vibration, as does a refinement of its idle-stop system.

Onboard luxuries include heated and ventilated massage seats front and rear with 22-way power adjustment for those in the back and a passenger-side ottoman for feet-up motoring.

Electric rear sunshades are also provided and the non-hybrid LS500 also includes a cooled storage compartment for rear-seat refreshments.

The 12.3-inch multimedia display up front incorporates Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, which began rolling out across the Lexus line-up earlier this month and is available as a $250 retrofit on certain existing models depending on their build date.

Also standard on the LS Inspiration are native satellite navigation and voice control functions, DAB+ digital radio reception and a pair of 11.6-inch entertainment screens for rear passengers.

Audio is piped through a 23-speaker Mark Levinson premium audio system.Lexus had shifted just 30 LS limos to the end of October this year, a 60.5 per cent decline, but overall the Toyota-owned luxury brand is flying high with 7.7 per cent growth equating to 7997 recorded deliveries.

For comparison, BMW sales are up 0.5 per cent in the same timeframe while Audi and Mercedes-Benz are down 25.6 percent and 6.5 per cent respectively. Jaguar sales have also gone backwards, to the tune of 7.6 per cent.