First look: Lexus flagship revealed

LEXUS has released the first official photo of its re-styled LS sedan flagship, several days ahead of the planned full reveal of the car in a global internet hook-up from California.

The release of the image on Facebook came just hours after two studio images – one a front-on view and the other a rear three-quarter – surfaced on Chinese web site XCar.

The leaked studio shots of the new spindle-grille face and re-designed rear on the LS 460 F-Sport variant spread like wildfire on the web overnight.

However, the shots of a plain silver car against a plain white background were rather bare and basic, maybe prompting Lexus to slip out a more attractive publicity shot.

The car is due to be fully revealed on the web next Tuesday (Australian time) from the Californian city of San Jose ahead of its formal public showing in the metal at the Paris motor show in September.

The fresh version of the big limo is expected to appear at the Australian International Motor Show in October before a possible appearance at the Melbourne Cup and showroom debut about November.

Left: Leaked front and rear images of the Lexus LS from XCar.com.cn.

The leading Japanese luxury-car company last month released a teaser photo of the nose of the revised vehicle, clearly showing the addition of the company’s spindle grille design language that made its debut on the all-new GS last year.

The fresh photo gives a clearer view of a distinctive headlight array, with three spotlights on each side.

The new look is decidedly more aggressive than the previous design, with a black mesh grille and blacked-out lower portion of the headlamps.

The leaked photo of the rear shows a ‘diffuser’ under the bumper and squared-off twin tailpipe tips.

The F-Sport version is expected to be added to the Australian range this time around, lining up beside the standard LS460 and hybrid LS600L.

In Australia, the current LS has basically run out ahead of the new-model launch, with no sales last month and only nine for the year.