Lexus GS


The Lexus GS is an executive car manufactured and marketed by Lexus across four generations — launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan and as the Lexus GS for markets outside the Japanese market beginning in February 1993. It continued with the Toyota Aristo name for the Japanese market until January 2005.
Lexus marketed the GS as a performance sedan competing in the mid-luxury class, between its compact executive IS and large/flagship LS. The GS shared its chassis with one of Toyota's longest-running nameplates, the Toyota Crown premium sedans until 2011.
The GS featured six-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive, with V8 engines offered for all generations. All-wheel drive and hybrid versions debuted in 2005. Previously, all-wheel drive versions were already made available in the Japanese-market S140 series Aristo. The first two generations had a Japanese market equivalent, the Toyota Aristo, which was sold from 1991 until the Lexus marque's Japanese debut in 2005. Though largely identical in exterior and interior design, the GS and the Aristo differed in their engine and transmission combinations as well as equipment packages. The GS name stands for Grand Sedan. However, some Lexus importers use the backronymic name, Grand Sport.
The first generation Lexus GS began sales in the United States, Europe and selected Asian markets in 1993. It was originally introduced with an inline-six engine and exterior bodywork designed by Italdesign Giugiaro. The second generation model premiered in 1997, using a new platform, in-house styling, and adding a V8 version for the first time outside Japan. The third generation GS, which premiered globally for the 2006 model year, was produced in V6, V8, and hybrid versions, the latter known as the GS 450h. The third generation models were the first GS sedans to be badged as such in the Japanese market.
The fourth generation Lexus GS premiered in August 2011 at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where models introduced included the V6-powered GS 350, hybrid GS 450h, and performance-tuned F Sport variants. A lower-displacement V6 model, the GS 250, premiered at the Auto Guangzhou Exhibition in November 2011, targeted at Asian and European markets. In some markets such as North America and Asia, the GS shares the mid-size sedan category in the Lexus lineup with the front-wheel drive ES, serving as its rear-wheel-drive counterpart.
The GS was replaced in Europe by the Lexus ES from December 2018. The seventh generation ES is the first to be sold in Europe, replacing the GS in spite of being a front-wheel drive car. It went on sale from September 2018 in Russia, Turkey and other CIS markets and from December 2018 in Western and Central Europe. Production ended in August 2020.

First generation (S140; 1991)

began the first design drawings of the GS 300 in 1988. The design firm aimed to produce a deluxe sedan which did without the numerous exterior features and detailing found on existing Japanese premium sedans, in favor of a more simplified, European-style appearance. The vehicle's exterior styling blended elements of the then-current Lexus LS flagship and SC performance coupe in a rounded, aerodynamic wedge-like shape which featured a high rear decklid and longer and wider proportions than rival vehicles. The exterior produced a. Color schemes included single-tone bumper and body finishes, along with dual-tone schemes. Similarities with an Italdesign concept car which debuted in 1990, the Jaguar Kensington, led some observers to suggest that the GS 300 was derived from its design, though Italdesign said the GS 300 was developed earlier. Equipped with an independent, double-wishbone suspension setup at both front and rear ends, Italdesign's sedan design first appeared in Toyota Aristo form in Japan in October 1991.
Manufactured at Toyota's Tahara assembly plant in Japan, production of the Aristo involved more automation than previous vehicles built at the Tahara factory; robots performed 4,200 welds on each body, while only eight spot welds were performed by hand.
Toyota of Japan offered two straight-six engine options for the Japanese market Aristo—the 3.0Q and 3.0V. The 3.0Q featured the 2JZ-GE engine which produced, while the Aristo 3.0V was equipped with a 24-valve twin-turbo 2JZ-GTE engine which produced. The Aristo was available at Toyota Auto Store as the top-level luxury sedan, positioned above the Chaser and Toyota Vista Store above the Cresta. In 1992, a third model, the V8-powered 4.0Zi-Four, joined the Aristo lineup. It came installed with iFour all-wheel drive and a 1UZ-FE engine.
Production of the export Lexus GS 300 began on 22 February 1993. For Lexus, The GS was placed above the front-wheel drive ES luxury sedan with its superior drivetrain setup, power and available amenities. Lexus only offered the GS with the 3.0-liter 2JZ-GE straight-six, producing and of torque.
For the interior, the GS 300 featured walnut wood trim on the center console, leather seating, an automatic tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and the option of a Nakamichi premium stereo system. Driver and front passenger airbags were standard. A moonroof, remote 12-CD auto changer, and traction control were options.
The GS was intended to take the price position of the original LS 400 flagship, which had moved upmarket since its 1989 launch. By the time of the GS 300's debut, the initial base price of the LS in the United States had climbed to, while the GS 300 at debut carried base price of. However, sales of the GS 300 were modest, with 1993 seeing the greatest sales at 19,164 sold that year. Sales dropped in later years as the Japanese yen rose in value against the dollar and made the vehicle more expensive than its rivals. Additionally, more powerful V8 sport sedans provided strong competition. By 1997, the price of the GS 300 had risen to. Production of the first generation GS sedan ended in July 1997.

Second generation (S160; 1997)

1997–2000

In 1993, after sales commenced for the first generation S140 series, development began on the successor under the internally known codenamed S160. The design process began under chief engineer Yasushi Nakagawa in May 1994 and by November 1995 after 18 months of design work, the final production design by Akihiro Nagaya was approved by the executive board. In January 1997, Lexus debuted the "High Performance Sedan" concept at the Detroit Auto Show, previewing the design direction for the redesigned GS.
In August 1997, the second generation Toyota Aristo was launched in Japan, codenamed JZS160 for models with 2JZ-GE engines and JZS161 for those with 2JZ-GTE twin-turbocharged engines, remaining exclusive to the former Auto Store network that was combined with Vista Store and renamed Toyota Netz Store Japanese dealerships. VVT-i was now standard, resulting in an increase of torque. The twin-turbocharged version was available with electronic four-wheel steering, VSC electronic stability control and an automatic transmission with a tiptronic manual sequential mode controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.
The second generation sedans used a new front-engine, rear-wheel drive midsize platform, also featured in the Japanese-market Toyota Crown. The new model's styling was produced in-house, and featured quadruple headlights in a fashion similar to the Lexus SC coupe. It had a. Inside, electroluminescent Optitron gauges were offered for the first time, along with an upgraded stereo system for V300 versions. For export markets, the second generation GS began production in the JZS161 body style on 4 August 1997 and was officially launched in October 1997.
Lexus offered the GS 300 once again and featured a slightly revised version of the previous generation's 3.0-liter straight-six now producing and of torque. Answering customer requests for more power, the American market GS 400 was equipped with the 4.0-liter 1UZ-FE V8 that produced and of torque. Both models featured a five-speed automatic transmission with the GS 400 receiving steering wheel shift buttons. As with the S140 series, no turbocharged variants were offered outside Japan. The 5.7 second time of the GS 400 prompted Lexus marketing to claim that the GS was the world's fastest production sedan at its introduction in 1997.
Lexus promoted the arrival of the second generation GS sedan with the tagline, "Something Wicked This Way Comes". Compared to its predecessor, the second generation GS sedan was a much bigger success, with sales reaching 30,622 vehicles in its first year, increasing in the second, and stabilizing at 28,079 vehicles by 2000. Lexus would keep the second generation vehicle in its lineup for eight years, a longer duration than the prior generation. The U.S. base price for the GS 300 and GS 430 averaged approximately and respectively.
The GS was Motor Trends Import Car of the Year for 1998. It also made Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list for 1998 through 2000. In IIHS frontal crash testing the 1999 and newer GS was given a "Good" overall score.

2000–2005

A facelift in 2000, for the 2001 model year was the only major design change of the second generation GS. There was a slightly revised grille, revised tail lights, and subtly tinted headlamps on the front end. Xenon headlamps became standard equipment with the V8 engine and optional on six-cylinder cars. More interior wood trim was added, and steering wheel shift buttons were added to the GS 300. The V8 engine also received a 0.3-liter increase in displacement, so the model designation changed to GS 430. Peak power was unchanged, but torque increased to. The GS 430 took 5.7 seconds to go from.
The Aristo was the last production car that used the twin turbocharged 2JZ-GTE motor, continuing 3 additional years after the Toyota Supra, the only other vehicle featuring the 2JZ-GTE, was discontinued in 2002.