New Lexus GS Spied Testing Ahead of 2012 Launch

The new Lexus GS has been spied testing in the US.  The mid-tier model in Lexus’ line-up will be a production version of the LF-Gh concept shown at the New York motor show earlier this year.

The concept looks familiar to anyone who knows the existing GS model from Toyota’s luxury division, while adopting the aggressive frontal styling from the range-topping LFA supercar.  How much the look has been toned down for production is hard to say, as the test car is still significantly disguised.  That hasn’t stopped people guesssing as to its looks though and you’ll find a rendered speculation below.

Little is known about the spec of the production LS that will follow, other than the concept was around 6.5 cm longer than the current car (489cm, or about 16 feet) on an identical wheelbase of 285 cm (feet 4 inches) and will be a hybrid.

The current LS 450h has 3.5 litre V6 generating around 296bhp, hitting 149mph and cracking the 0-62mph dash in 5.9 sconds.  Lexus hybrids are all about their class leading emissions though and in spite of this performance the current car coughs out just 179g/km of CO2.  Given how close the leading diesel engines in the class are running the Lexus on its green credentials, expect the Toyota engineers to have been hard at work to bring this figure down.

In the UK only the GS 450h hybrid is sold at a price of £44,615.  The new model is likely to go on sale in the UK in 2012.

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