Product attributes
The Lexus GS (Japanese: レクサス・GS, Rekusasu GS) is an executive car sold by Lexus, the premium division of Toyota. The same car had been launched in 1991 as the Toyota Aristo in Japan. For non-Japanese markets, it was released as the Lexus GS in February 1993. It continued using the Toyota Aristo name for the Japanese market until January 2005.
Designed as a performance sedan competing in the mid-luxury class, the GS slots between the compact executive IS and large/flagship LS, and shared its chassis with one of Toyota's longest-running nameplates, the Toyota Crown premium sedans until 2011.
Four generations of the GS have been produced since 1993, each available with six-cylinder engines and rear-wheel drive. V8 engines were also offered in all generations, and 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 domestic market equivalent, the Toyota Aristo (aristo is Greek for "the best"), which was sold from 1991 until the Lexus marque's domestic 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.
