Yet he is black and unimpressive. But soon puts the new Lexus GS from his camouflage and continues to fight for recognition, Mercedes E-Class, BMW and Audi A6 fives. He returns for the first time out and the athletes.
The highways between Brussels and Cologne could Yashihiko Kanamori probably go in my sleep. And the country roads he knows how his hand. Even if the Lexus engineer's office is in Japan, it curves regularly for thousands of miles through Europe. After all, he is the head of development for the new GS, which celebrates its world debut later in the summer and next spring goes on sale. "And this car we develop primarily on the streets of the country from our main competitors come: Germany."
He was here earlier, especially on the German autobahn on the way because we finally can drive anywhere else in the world so quickly was to his attention this time rather the highways. For high speeds, much long-distance comfort and the lowest possible noise level is one thing. But fun is something completely different. "And when we had the new GS important than ever," says Kanamori.
Lexus has it used to be compared to the Mercedes and pushed it into the corner of the conservative or even sedate business saloons, Kanamori's team is now looking a lot more compared to the BMW. "The five of us in terms of driving dynamics was the bar."
Steering with variable ratio
To the get closer to the chief engineer has dug deep into his bag of tricks. For the first time there is a variable-ratio steering, and just as on Munich from a steerable rear axle. It proposes the wheels made only $ to a maximum of 1.5 degrees, but even this small angle has a large effect. The slalom at the test site, the more thoroughly camouflaged sedan almost automatically goes outside on the winding country road has the luxury liner suddenly half a meter shorter and a couple of hundredweight lighter.
In four stages between sporty and economical
How stiff and sporty, the GS is on the way, the driver can adjust himself. Where others have the knob for navigation & Co, there is a great wheel for the "Drive Mode". It not only controls the steering feel, but also the adaptive suspension, the logic of the six speed automatic and the characteristics of the motor. Programmed are four stages between distinctly sporty and economical stresses, whereby gutmacht in Eco mode even six percent fuel, promises chief engineer.
Nice, comfortable, economical
That you are in the new GS, despite the thick padded neoprene sleeve on the sheet and the unadorned Tarnaufklebern interior feels much more comfortable than in the predecessor, however, lies not only in the dynamic qualities and the set-up work of Kanamori san.
The designers have done a good job and brought the car to a new age. Instead of home-baked graphics on puny displays, there are now large data Cinema on huge monitors that operated like magic with a kind of mouse on the center tunnel, the cockpit has a more modern and a few splashes of color, it has in the nobility of the gray leather landscape well enough yet .
In addition, you sit better. The chairs are comfortable and can be adjusted individually. The driver gets closer to the center of gravity of the car, and get the more direct feedback from the road. And it also gives more space. Although the GS is 4.85 meters long unchanged, especially the rear one has noticeably more legroom. In addition, we benefited in two rows of three centimeters raised roof. Where once the peak times quickly dragged, enough is enough even for bulky Big Hair.
Ten percent less fuel
Major driver for the GS course is again a hybrid. About the Kanamori will still not talk so much. But it remains the V6 is electrically assisted, it makes no secret. As fast as the Luxuslinier accelerated, is expected to double again probably come to about 350 hp. "With the performance we had no great need for action," says Kanamori. "Instead, we turned to another screw: the consumption."
Because the car has slimmed down about 60 pounds, drawn something more streamlined and the drive has been optimized, the chief engineer promises a fuel consumption advantage of over ten percent. If that is true, is the future according to the standard cycle of a six before the comma. "That's the reason why we do not even think about a diesel."
"We see the future with the hybrid"
Only with the hybrid, it is not done more. While Lexus had announced they were a year or two, there will be no other than the LFA more conventionally powered cars. "But quite so far we're not," admitted the chief engineer and obtained his second GS prototypes from the parking lot. He is driven by a V6 engine, which will probably have 2.5 liter displacement and 250 hp and during the test drive not as dynamic acts. The Kanamori has heard in the last few days several times and sees this as confirmation of his long-term vision: "Even though we have a little more time for the transition: We see the future clearly in hybrid."
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