The Lexus LS, the primary automobile launched by the Japanese model right here 35 years in the past, has been dropped from the UK line-up.
The choice follows a sustained interval of poor gross sales of the hybrid V6-powered saloon, with 39 offered because the flip of the last decade – together with simply three final yr. This implies the ES is the one Lexus saloon nonetheless supplied within the UK as new.
Homologation and laws points are different causes the LS has been dropped, Lexus confirmed to Autocar. A spokesperson added that the recognition of the brand new LM luxurious MPV – which is in the identical phase because the LS – additionally contributed to the choice. The saloon continues to be offered in different European markets and may nonetheless be purchased from inventory within the UK.
Earlier than going off sale, the LS vary began from £101,000, rising to £128,000 in top-rung Takumi guise. Each LS was powered by a hybrid set-up comprising a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine, two electrical motors and a lithium ion battery. This mixed for 354bhp and a top-end 0-62mph time (when four-wheel drive was optioned) of 5.4sec.
Lexus’s choice brings to an finish a lineage that started within the UK three and a half a long time in the past.
The primary-generation LS 400 (pictured above) arrived within the UK in 1990, simply after it was launched within the US – the important thing marketplace for the model. Lexus’s first mannequin was used to place Toyota’s offshoot as a maker of refined luxurious autos that might tackle Europe’s and America’s elite – and for a less expensive beginning worth.
Since then, an additional 4 generations have adopted within the UK – the ultimate, badged LS 500, being launched in 2017 and subsequently up to date in 2020. The model’s UK line-up now includes the LBX, UX, NX, RZ, RX, ES and LM.
