| Lexus L-FinesseLS Styling And How It Was Impacted By Lexus' L-Finesse Styling Strategy
It might be tempting to dismiss the difficulty of building a successful luxury car. After all, the components are easy to catalog: it must have a comfortable and quiet passenger compartment, be based on a reliable and high-performing chassis and drive train, and look terrific.
As always, though, the devil is in the details. How do you actually make a vehicle look terrific? How do you make sure it continues to be aesthetically after it launches?
These questions occupied the minds of Lexus designers as they considered and conceived dynamic styling of the all-new Lexus LS models: the LS 460, LS 460 L, and Lexus LS 600h L. The answers were not as easy to find or as obvious as one might think.
As Lexus designers looked for the proper and appropriate design solutions while working on the next-generation flagship LS, they had two secret weapons in their collective quiver of design tools.
First, they had something called L-finesse. Using the L-finesse precept, they developed the direction in which they needed to go to craft one of the most striking and memorable automobiles ever seen. Second, they had Yo Hiruta, the chief designer of the LS interior and exterior.
L-finesse is at once a simple concept and one that is difficult to explain. The "L" of L-finesse stands for leading-edge, which Lexus officials state has been a hallmark of the brand since redefining the luxury automobile market with its launch in 1989. "Finesse" is typified by striking design, with an air of mystery and elegance.
"Lexus is famous for its specification, for the numbers, for its quietness," said Simon Humphries, project manager at Toyota Motor Corporation's Global Design Division in Japan. "We needed to spend much more time on the character, the personality, of the brand. This was particularly relevant to design. L-finesse is everything that can't be measured by numbers and specifications. It is what's intangible about Lexus. We've tried to define that to guide Lexus in a direction that is unique in the marketplace."
Using this philosophy, designers sought what they call "incisive simplicity," the removal of extraneous elements to reveal condensed purity and beauty. They also sought "intriguing elegance," a careful juxtaposition of opposing elements that creates an experience filled with depth and a profound, mysterious beauty. The result was a luxury automobile that speaks to the hearts and minds of the American consumer.
"Before L-finesse each car [in the line] had many different concepts," said Hiruta. "Each car was very different. L-finesse provided a constancy of design, but not an identical approach to all." This bold personality is reflected throughout the Lexus sedan line up - the GS, ES, IS and now the forthcoming LS series - but realized in each in different ways.
"The LS' face is a very purposeful design statement - it's resolute, determined, dynamic," stated Hiruta." This is done with a high placement of the headlamps, instead of having them in the same horizontal plane as the grille. We wanted to provide a sporty look, a look that didn't say 'prestige' quite so obviously. The special design cues used on the new LS models aren't limited to their face. They continue throughout the entire design of the car."
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