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Lexus back in luxury sales race after three-year absence

Think the only challengers for the title of best-selling luxury brand hail from der Vaterland? Wrong. Lexus outsold the likes of Mercedes-Benz for the second time in 2014 last month. In fact, the Japanese luxury marque's total sales this year are a mere 12,000 units behind BMW.
Lexus was able to move 26,921 vehicles last month, a year-over-year increase of 21.1 percent, respectively. Mercedes, meanwhile, was just barely beaten, moving 26,617 units in April. The difference, though, is that Lexus has made far bigger year-over-year gains than Mercedes, which recorded a YOY increase of just 4.13 percent.
This is particularly troubling for the Germans, as it marks a return to form for Lexus that we haven't seen since before the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami that decimated Japan. Prior to that natural disaster, Lexus enjoyed nearly a dozen years at the top of the luxury heap.

Lexus LS mid-cycle refresh to restore V8-powered LS 600h hybrid?

When Lexus launched the fifth-generation LS at the end of 2017, the Japanese luxury maker predicted its once-brand-defining sedan would sell 12,000 units per year in the U.S., a threshold the model hadn't reached since 2010. The LS managed 9,301 transactions here in 2018, its first full year on sale, falling back to 5,528 units in 2019. Through the first three coronavirus-affected months of this year, Lexus dealers have sold 801 LS sedans, compared to 1,404 units in Q1 2019. There's a mid-cycle refresh supposedly due for release in the fall of 2021, and the June issue of Japanese magazine Mag-X (translated), via Lexus Enthusiast, claims we're due for a couple of big surprises that could jolt the sales figures. The first shock is that Lexus is supposedly bringing back the LS 600h moniker for an LS with a V8 hybrid powertrain.  Lexus debuted the LS 600h L in 2007 for the 2008 model year, retiring the hybrid trim in 2016. Its heart was a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8, and when combined with an electric motor, combined output came to 439 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The fifth generation introduced the LS 500h that switched to a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, producing a combined 354 hp and 369 lb-ft., taking second place in output to the twin-turbo V6 in the non-hybrid LS 500 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft. If Lexus were to double back to a V8 after experimenting with a V6 hybrid for four years, some question which V8 would get the nod. The old V8, codenamed 2UR-FSE and still in use in the Lexus LC as the 2UR-GSE, dates back 14 years and is scheduled to retire in two years when the LC-F introduces Lexus' new twin-turbo V8. According to leaked dealer information, that's the same year Toyota and Lexus will stop offering V8 engines in any model with an MSRP under $90,000. Toyota has shied away from turbocharged hybrids, but the next-generation Tundra could change that if rumors of the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 i-Force Max engine come true. A twin-turbo V8 LS hybrid would rocket the model back to the top of the range in performance and price, and we could see it breaking the "F" seal on the LS lineup, since it would run counter to everything the German competitors are doing with their standard flagship sedans. Or Lexus could remove the turbos for a better compromise of potency and frugality.

Lexus RZ Sport Concept headlines Tokyo Auto Show concept quintet

Lexus heads to this weekend's 2023 Tokyo Auto Salon and Tokyo Outdoor Show with concepts aiming to show the brand balancing sporty, rough-and-tumble, and eco-conscious with trademark luxury. The keynote speaker is the RZ Sport Concept, Lexus' new battery-electric crossover getting a heavy tune from racing driver and Lexus development engineer Masahiro Sasaki. That racing connection adds some context for the looks and an output nearly 100 horsepower greater than the RZ this is based on. The production RZ produces 308 horsepower from two motors powering the Direct4 all-wheel-drive system. The RZ Sport Concept gets 402 horses from its two motors. Custom aero parts from front to back make the RZ's intentions clear. There's a custom front fascia with exposed carbon fiber surrounds for the intakes, plus a black hood showing two giant ducts. Wheel arch extensions and new rocker panels add 3.5 inches to the width, the body lowered 1.4 inches on a custom suspension over 21-inch Volk Racing wheels wrapped in 295/35 tires. And check out the WRC-worthy double-up carbon fiber rear wings hovering above the rear glass, helping add three inches of overall length compared to the production RZ.  The Hakugin exterior is based on a white hue "that produces a delicate shining texture when illuminated." The only detail we're given about the interior is that there are four bucket seats. That seems bittersweet for occupants, traveling in such comfort over such a short distance. Lexus didn't provide a range figure, but the mods and a quartet of tires wider than the 235/35 Michelins on the 395-hp Lexus RC F will cleave the production RZ's 225-mile estimated range. Besides, anything this angry cannot help but burn through its candle quickly.   The second highlight for the Auto Salon is the Lexus LX 600 Offroad Team JAOS 2022 that ran last year's Baja 1000. The SUV has been part of a three-year competition project in unmodified stock classes, its continuing development primarily focused on safety technologies. At the Tokyo Outdoor Show, Lexus is showing a trio of vehicles under the "Overtrail" banner, a mix of overland and trail. The ROV Concept 2 looks like the ROV Concept side-by-side Lexus showed in 2021, the only differences being a new paint job in a color called Regolith and a new set of wheels.