With the ultra-luxury segment now spun off into its own Century brand, Toyota is also reinventing Lexus into a new luxury marque “with the explicit goal of helping [their] customers discover a new luxury lifestyle”, the company revealed during Japan Mobility Show 2025.
They’ll be doing that starting with its iconic LS nameplate – although you’d be surprised it’s now no longer a flagship executive sedan. Instead, the LS name now stands for Luxury Space, and has morphed into a futuristic MPV with six wheels – in its concept form, at least.
The reason for the six wheels, according to Lexus Chief Branding Officer Simon Humphries, is so that the rear wheels can now be smaller in size, thus translating to more interior space at the back, even in the third-row seats.
Lexus says that the LS’ interior is designed as a “sanctuary”, teleporting its customers “to a home away from home”. To that end, the giant sliding doors open up to a sofa-like reclining bench seat in the second row, seemingly with retractable armrests and built-in ottomans, where the towkays will be able to lounge in comfort.
Not much info on the LS Concept has been disseminated otherwise, but its overall design does suggest a more radical and futuristic styling language – mirrored onto its other products on show today, too – with sharp diagonal lines and large swathes of unbroken bodywork.
Lexus’ signature spindle grille is now formed by its front light signature, and the solid front fascia suggests that the model was primarily intended to be a fully electric model. The ‘L’ emblem at the front has also been replaced by a light-up Lexus wordmark.
ALSO READ: Toyota spins off Century into new ultra-luxury sub-brand, positioned above Lexus
Round the back, the large monolithic facade is bisected by a U-shaped light signature, framing the top protruding portion housing the rear windscreen for an almost moon rover-like appearance. Based on the provided photos, it appears that segment can also act as a split tailgate, with the lower half sliding downwards for easier access.
Inside, the dashboard has also adopted a very minimalist design, with the horizontal layout accentuated by two longitudinally-stacked displays – the one nearer to the driver serving as an instrument cluster and infotainment controls, while the further curved display seems to be a constant video feed of the cameras outside.
Steering is now governed by a yoke, in line with its whole futuristic spaceship MO, but fortunately it seems even astronauts appreciate physical controls too, with a bank of large buttons lining either side of the steering column.
Aside from the Luxury MPV, the LS nameplate will also spawn two other models – one a crossover model dubbed the LS Coupe Concept, which Lexus says is designed to be “as fun for the driver as it is for the passenger”.
As with all concepts, this here also features many design touches that would never make it into production, like the transparent wheel covers, and the helical objects where normal wing mirrors would be found, which Lexus wants us to believe are cameras.
ALSO READ: The Toyota Corolla Concept is bringing sexy and simple back to the world’s best-selling nameplate
Still, we think it’s at least a lot more closer to being a real car than the aforementioned LS MPV, with a more conventional silhouette featuring the brand’s current “spindle body” front-end, and a more car-like side surfacing treatment reminiscent of the Toyota Crown Sport SUV.
Open up the suicide doors, and you’ll find a similarly minimalist cabin design with the same two-screen and yoke dashboard layout. The LS Coupe concept also features a sliding drawer-style rear boot, with a curved pane of glass in place of the usual hatch door, where you’ll also find a small drone… for some reason.
The second of the two spin-off models comes in the form of an urban mobility vehicle, dubbed the LS Micro concept, which has seemingly shrunk the LS MPV into a tiny paid with only space for one.
Lexus says the LS Micro will be fully autonomous, and the single passenger can lounge in absolute comfort within the cabin, replete with a reclining seat similar to that of its elder sibling, and wood panelling inside for some added Japanese Zen-ness.
It’s most definitely a concept only for now, and so are the autonomous catamaran and flying car concepts, the latter to be realised through a partnership with Joby. But these, Lexus says, help illustrate what the Lexus brand will become in the future, with luxury solutions encompassing all modes of transport.
Lexus also envisions new luxury spaces in the form of the Lexus House and Lexus Hub, the latter probably a taste of what its future showrooms might look like. The brand says all these help “support and enable a multi-dimensional way of living”… whatever that means.
It’s a flashy way to show off a rebranding exercise, and at least the cars do seem probable enough in the near future – but only time will tell what’s truly coming next for Toyota’s premium brand.
ALSO READ: Toyota to debut over 10 electrified vehicles across Asia over next 3 years – Hilux EV coming soon?
GALLERY
Lexus LS concept
Lexus LS Coupe concept
Lexus LS Micro concept
