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Lexus GS production and sales halted in Europe

We last wrote about the Lexus GS one year ago to editorialize about the rumored death of the luxury brand's sports sedan. Now, Dutch outlet AutoRAI claims to have gotten confirmation from Lexus Europe that the automaker stopped taking orders for the GS in March, and will cease production of the Euro-spec model in April. In keeping with last year's speculation, AutoRAI reports the next-generation, front-wheel-drive ES will fill the role of the rear-wheel-drive GS there. What this means for the GS in the States? We sill don't know. But we do know that the ES moved 51,398 units here last year, compared to GS sales of 7,773. Those numbers represent double-digit declines compared to 2016, when the sold ES sold 51,398 units and the GS sold 14,878. In August 2017, spy photographers caught the 2019 ES testing with the Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class, hinting the coming ES has grander aspirations than being a florid Toyota Avalon. That still wouldn't make the ES a pure replacement for a sporty rear-drive sedan, but are there enough GS buyers for Lexus to care? Last October, Car and Driver reported that Toyota's Gazoo Racing brand was working on a new GS F, but C/D couldn't tell if Gazoo meant a new model or the current one. Last June, Lexus Australia head Peter McGregor refuted the death of the GS. When asked if dealers were interested in both the ES and GS, McGregor responded, "I think what dealers like is a full line-up... that meets the market requirement in every key segment." Making clear that he couldn't speak on future product, McGregor also commented, "I think [a new GS] would still be a four-door sedan in terms of its application, but the exterior styling may appear to be more liftback." The third-gen GS struck a fastback profile, and you could see the new LS as a modern evolution of that old GS design. A member at the Lexus Enthusiast fan forum has found that the the next GS, internally codenamed 300B, still shows up in industry databases alongside the date "SOP [Start of Production] Q2 2019." Throwing money at an updated GS F wouldn't make sense for a doomed sedan. Could the GS reappear as a four-door coupe? Certainly, if for no other reason than that Lexus needs something to fill the slot between the $38,950 ES and the $75,000 LS.

Lexus LF-LC approved for production

On the sidelines of a press drive for the 2014 Lexus IS, the company's vice president of marketing in the US told Ward's Auto that the honchos in Japan have approved the Lexus LF-LC concept for production. He wouldn't offer any other details on how the luxury coupe might be transformed into a vehicle for the buying masses, and that has led to a bag full of speculation.
The show car was hybrid-powered and rear-wheel drive, a beautifully executed stab by Toyota designers in Newport Beach at redefining Lexus, but even with the concept, the point was to keep it "within reach for premium buyers." The report says the odds are on limited production and higher pricing than Lexus' "mainstream products," and other sites have speculated on what kind of powertrain it might end up in showrooms with.
GT Channel posits that the LF-LC will be the inspiration for a coupe in the Lexus LS price bracket with a choice of either the 4.2-liter V8 or the hybrid powertrain from the LS 600h, further speculating it will be called LC 550 and cost more than $100,000. It then says that there would be another coupe created beneath that one to replace the SC 430. Lexus Enthusiast, however, calls those "warmed-over rumors" and says that the marque probably won't deviate from its engine-capacity-naming scheme - labeling a car with a 4.2-liter V8 an LC 550. Nor does it think Lexus will use the letters LC after the company has trademarked "RC" in the US and Australia.