Monday, September 12, 2011

Lexus To Flex Design Muscles With Future Model Styling

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If you were disappointed that Lexus softened the look of its muscly LF-Gh concept in the transition to the next-generation GS, you could soon have reason to cheer.

Thanks to teaser images revealed last month, it's already clear that the GS F Sport styling kit destined for Frankfurt this week will carry a closer connection to its concept progenitor.

Now, new reports out of Europe suggest we can expect future Lexus cars to look even tougher.

According to industry paper Automotive News, Toyota design boss Tokuo Fukuichi, whose office is based in Europe, has promised that the LF-Gh's pronounced 'Spindle' grille will be emphasised further with future models.

"In the next model we will emphasize this grille even more," Fukuichi told Automotive News. "You would probably remember this grille if you saw it pass on the street."

With the new GS, the Japanese luxury brand has moved to overcome the dowdy image of its predecessor, focusing on sharper styling and handling in a push to draw the eyes of a younger crowd.

"We shouldn't always stay in the middle of the mainstream," Fukuichi added. "When you launch the product, it ends up with no character."

 

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While the mean and chuckable IS F has helped the brand make in-roads with the enthusiast market, it's the overseas HS 250h and the brand-new CT 200h small car that first marked a major change in the brand's "L-Finesse" styling book.

The new look matured last month with the unveiling of the new GS, and the next model to get a going-over will be the IS mid-sizer, Lexus' rival for the BMW 3 Series and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class.

Lexus Australia CEO Tony Cramb is confident the new GS' look and feel will resonate with younger buyers- and poach loyalists away from its European competitors.

"This segment is very well defined. Buyers in the large luxury car segment are almost always male, and very wealthy - and they can have just about whatever they want when it comes to their choice of car," Mr Cramb told TMR.

"Frankly, we've struggled to attract that type in the past, but this model, its styling and handling, we're very confident it will change all of that."

 

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