Landau

Although the floorpan of the 8-cylinder, 4x4 Lexus GS 300 has been retained and the mechanicals left substantially as they were, it has been possible to make the new car almost 60 cm shorter, mainly by cropping the rear jutting edge by about 50 cm. Nor has this in any way jeopardised ride space: on the contrary, by relocating the fuel tank under the rear seats (originally it was behind them), it has been possible to raise the roof by about 5 cm and hence create more room than before. The name Landau in itself suggests the direction Giugiaro's design has followed. The landau was a four-wheeled, horse-drawn luxury carriage much in vogue in the last century. It was named after the town in Germany where it was made. Its distinctive feature was its tall cabin, with rear wheels positioned extremely close to the tail and a luggage compartment that was often applied externally. Likewise, the line of the new Lexus Landau, with its cropped tail and 2-box body, is characterized by the position of the rear wheels: they give the optical impression that they are tacked on to the body, thus conjuring up visions of 20s and 30s cars. The cabin is unusually high too.