2007 Lexus LS 460
By Jim McCraw
On Sale: Fall 2006
Expected Pricing: $70,000-$85,000
Lexus is launching an all-new flagship luxury sedan this fall. The 2007 Lexus LS 460 will be boast the latest technology, including the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission, an air conditioning system that checks your body temperature to maintain the proper cabin temperature, and a system that automatically parks the car with the press of a button.
Its new exterior design is bolder and more stylish than the current LS 450, but it's an evolutionary design and readily identifiable as a Lexus.
This fourth-generation LS will be powered by a new and larger 4.6-liter V8 engine making 380 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque. Lexus has upped the ante with BMW and Mercedes by going their seven-speed transmissions one better with a new eight-speed automatic. Lexus says the new engine and transmission combine to deliver 0-60 times of less than 5.5 seconds, which is very quick. At the same time, Lexus said, it will get about 25 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving, and meet California's ULEV II low-emissions standard.
Some 17 years after its initial launch in Detroit, the new LS uses a completely redesigned multi-link suspension, a variable-ratio, electronic power-steering system, and an updated Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system. VDIM integrates the Electronically Controlled Brake system (ECB), Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), Electric Power Steering (EPS), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), antilock brakes (ABS), Brake Assist, Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and engine torque via the electronic drive-by-wire throttle.
The beautifully appointed cabin has all the customary Lexus luxury touches, including a heated steering wheel, seats covered in one of four leathers to coordinate with three woodgrain trims, more choices than luxury buyers usually get.
An idea pioneered in the $350,000 Maybach, a power reclining seat equipped with power leg rests and massage is available for the right rear, along with a folding table matched to the interior woodgrain. The LS also offers a nine-inch rear monitor mounted in the headliner along with a new 19-speaker Mark Levinson audio system with an onboard hard drive that will hold the owner's 4000 favorite songs.
As if giving notice to Mercedes and BMW, the 2007 Lexus LS 460 will be available in regular-length and stretched-wheelbase versions, just like the S-Class and 7 Series. With the LS 460, though, the 120-millimeter wheelbase stretch equates to just a 20-millimeter increase in overall length, so most of the extra space is not translated to overall length.
The new LS 460 is expected in the dealerships in the autumn of 2006, in about the same price neighborhood as the current car, $70,000, with the ultra-luxury long-wheelbase model adding about $15,000. Lexus is launching an all-new flagship luxury sedan this fall. The 2007 Lexus LS 460 will be boast the latest technology, including the world's first eight-speed automatic transmission, an air conditioning system that checks your body temperature to maintain the proper cabin temperature, and a system that automatically parks the car with the press of a button.
Its new exterior design is bolder and more stylish than the current LS 450, but it's an evolutionary design and readily identifiable as a Lexus.
This fourth-generation LS will be powered by a new and larger 4.6-liter V8 engine making 380 horsepower and 370 pound-feet of torque. Lexus has upped the ante with BMW and Mercedes by going their seven-speed transmissions one better with a new eight-speed automatic. Lexus says the new engine and transmission combine to deliver 0-60 times of less than 5.5 seconds, which is very quick. At the same time, Lexus said, it will get about 25 miles per gallon in combined city/highway driving, and meet California's ULEV II low-emissions standard.
Some 17 years after its initial launch in Detroit, the new LS uses a completely redesigned multi-link suspension, a variable-ratio, electronic power-steering system, and an updated Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system. VDIM integrates the Electronically Controlled Brake system (ECB), Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), Electric Power Steering (EPS), Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), antilock brakes (ABS), Brake Assist, Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD) and engine torque via the electronic drive-by-wire throttle.
The beautifully appointed cabin has all the customary Lexus luxury touches, including a heated steering wheel, seats covered in one of four leathers to coordinate with three woodgrain trims, more choices than luxury buyers usually get.
An idea pioneered in the $350,000 Maybach, a power reclining seat equipped with power leg rests and massage is available for the right rear, along with a folding table matched to the interior woodgrain. The LS also offers a nine-inch rear monitor mounted in the headliner along with a new 19-speaker Mark Levinson audio system with an onboard hard drive that will hold the owner's 4000 favorite songs.
As if giving notice to Mercedes and BMW, the 2007 Lexus LS 460 will be available in regular-length and stretched-wheelbase versions, just like the S-Class and 7 Series. With the LS 460, though, the 120-millimeter wheelbase stretch equates to just a 20-millimeter increase in overall length, so most of the extra space is not translated to overall length.
The new LS 460 is expected in the dealerships in the autumn of 2006, in about the same price neighborhood as the current car, $70,000, with the ultra-luxury long-wheelbase model adding about $15,000.
1-800-USA-LEXUS
www.lexus.com
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