[Zeiss]

Lexus announces new flagship hybrid


Toyota says new sedan will help it take on BMW and Mercedes in the luxury market.
POSTED: 7:59 a.m. EDT, May 17, 2007


TOKYO (Reuters) -- Toyota launched the LS600h hybrid sedan in Japan on Thursday, billing it the pinnacle of its Lexus brand that will help it take on BMW and Mercedes-Benz in the lucrative luxury car market.

Lexus has been the top-selling premium marquee for years in the United States but global sales are nowhere near its German rivals' due to its niche position in Europe and Japan.

Aiming to erase its second-tier image once and for all, Toyota said the gasoline-electric version of its top-of-the-line sedan would redefine the premium segment by offering performance, luxury and fuel economy in one package through its latest hybrid and other cutting-edge technologies.

"This car takes the concept of luxury beyond the conventional parameters and into the 21st century," President Katsuaki Watanabe said at the car's launch in Tokyo.

The world's second-biggest automaker aims to sell 7,000 units of the car globally in 2007, including 4,000 in Japan. Exports will begin next month, eventually reaching more than 30 countries, it said.

Toyota expects total Lexus sales of over 500,000 units this year, up from 475,000 units in 2006 but still about a third of what BMW, the world's largest premium car maker, expects to sell in 2007.

The LS600h is priced at $80,300 (¥9.7 million), while the long-wheelbase LS600hL, first unveiled at the New York Auto Show last spring, starts at $84,850 (¥10.25 million yen). That makes the hybrid LS sedan Toyota's priciest car sold outside Japan and puts it in the same price range as BMW's 7-series and Mercedes' S-Class.

The gasoline-only LS460, which debuted last September and which is powered by a smaller 4.6-liter engine, starts at $63,740 (¥7.7 million) in Japan.
'Flagship of Lexus'

Pulling out all the stops on the car it calls the "Flagship of Lexus," Toyota packed the LS600h/LS600hL with several new components and systems including a 5-liter V8 engine, full-time all-wheel-drive and a high-output electric motor. The result, Toyota says, is a car with the power and acceleration of a 6-liter engine but half its carbon dioxide emissions.

The car can run 28.7 miles per gallon , accelerate from zero to 62.5 mph in 5.5 seconds and has a horsepower of 438 hp.

Among other advanced features, the LS600h has a safety system that sets off an alert if the driver is looking away when an accident is imminent. The car can also parallel park itself, and massage rear-seat passengers as an option.

Toyota is hoping to make up for Lexus' short, 18-year history and lack of pedigree compared with leaders BMW and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz through its edge in technology that allows drivers to enjoy big, high-performance cars with a smaller impact on the environment.

Lexus is the only premium brand to offer a hybrid option, also through the RX sport utility vehicle and GS coupe models.

Watanabe acknowledged that Lexus had fallen somewhat short of expectations in luring away customers from its German rivals in Japan, where it debuted in August 2005, but said Toyota was prepared for a long-term battle in building it into a global premium brand.

"It's possible our initial expectations were a bit too high," he said. "But once we get our message across to customers, I think we will be able to garner more sales from them."

[DasBlitz]

$80k thats a lot. Hybrid or not. Those headlights look crazy though.

[RokX]

+1 on the headlights. Looks like a fuckin bug or something to me up close lol

[Neil]

They had a review of it in USAToday with a MSRP of $110,000 but said it beats all the competitors pretty handily including the 7 series and A8 by offering more power, better fuel economy, better interior, more safety, more options, and with a smaller displacement engine for less money.