2005 Tokyo Motor show.

[Yperion]

VW Phaeton replica in the front.

 

[mrnet_01]

VW Phaeton replica in the front.

You are right. The resemblance is very clear

 

[Merc1]

Well being Lexus they had to get their "inspiration" from somewhere since they have no design heritage (or a clue) to draw upon.

M

 

[Kleemann_SL]

Yea yea, those cars are great... But this is just gorgeous!! Never thought that the S8 would be so great, and with a black color its gonna look like a killer!! Dissapointed about the "weak" 450HP, should be more than that

 

[SDNR]

Merc1, do you agree with my first post? (I quote myself)

Yes, a very derivative design - the front reminds me of the VW Phaeton and there are obvious 5er details - I think from this design it is obvious that Mercedes-Benz is no longer considerred the benchmark in the hearts and minds of Asia.

 

[Zafiro]

Yes, a very derivative design - the front reminds me of the VW Phaeton and there are obvious 5er details - I think from this design it is obvious that Mercedes-Benz is no longer considerred the benchmark in the hearts and minds of Asia.

I dont know if I should be flattered or mad but I dont want Lexus to be a BMW copycat


BTW no BMw news at the show?

 

[Merc1]

Merc1, do you agree with my first post? (I quote myself)

Yeah I'd agree with that. I guess Lexus figured its time to copy someone else. As far as Mercedes not being a benchmark in Asia I'm not so sure about. The Koreans have been shamefully copying Mercedes design cues lately, but Lexus is going for their own look and trying to be more youthful.

M

 

[SDNR]

I dont know if I should be flattered or mad but I dont want Lexus to be a BMW copycat


BTW no BMw news at the show?

You will have to expand on that comment Just_me, I fail to understand how you, personally, could be either flattered or made mad by my statement

 

[Yperion]

Recently copying German luxury cars have become a common practice for Japanese companies.
Just look how obvious is that Honda copied Audi's tail lights:

Also the rear lights in the Civic coupe look similar to A6 ones!!!

 

[GTA45E]

VW Phaeton replica in the front.

The Lexus is just a concept. I wouldn`t pass judgement when we havn`t seen the production model. Some design elements might be changed.

 

[wltsm]

There aren't many pictures from tokyo yet!

When did the show start?

 

[Deleted member 25]

And guess what? BMW copied Volvo w/ the concave character line, so really... doesn't matter. This car looks bland and boring like most of everything else they've done, bet it drives the same too. Unfortunately I don't think Lexus really knows what a "design revolution" is. Everyone should take a page out of Volvo's book.

About What Concave Line do you talk ??

 

[Snake Vargas]

I think the concave line is how the body 'dips in' towards itself under the waist. I guess it's hard to explain in words.

Roberto, I would have thought Rolls could invent a better division than that. I think a retractable one, if at least for a part in the middle, would have been not only better but completely feasible. And maybe talk to the Ferrari guys (ie. 575 Superamerica roof) or the Maybach guys (their roof) to see how they can also make it electrochromatic - so it can be opaque on command. Though perhas having a black screen in front of the passengers isn't that aesthetically pleasant - too bad you probably can't have different colours.

 

[SDNR]

I don't like it either Snake - the Maybach's divider is electrochromatic, I can't comprehend why Rolls-Royce would choose to have a small aperture to communicate with the driver

 

[Merc1]

Rolls-Royce has shown the LWB Phantom with a division wall.

This is quite an old-fashioned detail.

Very odd - it's not retractable, I was hoping it would look a little more elegant than this - I think the Maybach's is more practical and offers more privacy for the rear occupants.

Just bothered to look through this thread. Now I have to give Rolls credit, this is a classy as hell.

M

 

[SDNR]

Merc1, you know I hold your opinion in the highest regard, but do you really think that a fixed glass partition is really a suitable option in this day and age - the whole impression I get here is one of contrived class distinction - at least the Maybach allows the front passengers to be part of the conversation in the rear if desired - the Rolls completely separates the masters from the "help".

 

[MoSs]

 

[MoSs]

 

[MoSs]

 

[Snake Vargas]

I wouldn't quite call that Rolls Royce 'speakhole' classy. Silly is more what I'd say.

When you have the capability of either using an electronic microphone/speaker system, or just having the clean and elegant solution of a retractable partition, then why force the people to speak through this unnecessarily constrained little hole? It's like being at the bank teller and you have to speak into the tniy hole in the glass barrier. It might look classy, but it's poor design and an impediment.