Toyota Altezza and Lexus IS200 - Are They the Same? - Vol.304
Here is how it happened: Lexus is the luxury brand of Toyota. The history of the brand began in 1983 when Toyota decided to develop a new premium sedan codenamed F1. The project didn't have a deadline or a specific budget. The development process lasted for over five years and cost Toyota over a billion dollars.
The resulting vehicle didn't use any of existing Toyota's cars or parts. Toyota chief engineer Ichiro Suzuki developed an all-new car with all-new design that he thought would surpass luxury American and European cars in target areas such as aerodynamics, top speed, fuel efficiency and sound isolation of the cabin. This is how F1 became Lexus LS. LS abbreviation stands for "Luxury Sedan".
During 5 years of development, 60 designers, 1400 engineers and 2300 were involved in the project. They've build over 450 prototypes of the car. The prototypes were tested in Europe in winter and in deserts in Australia and Saudi Arabia.
Toyota premiered Lexus LS in 1989 as a luxury car with a V8 engine at the North American Auto Show in Detroit as a 1990 year model. US sales started in September of 1989. Even though all generations of Lexus LS were always made in Japan, from its inception the Lexus brand was intended for foreign markets.
After introducing the LS in 1989, Toyota rolled out Lexus GS in 1993 and Lexus IS in 1998. The IS was created as an entry-level luxury sports model. The abbreviation IS stands for Intelligent Sport. Toyota worked on creating the IS from 1994 to 1998. The engineering team was led by Nobuaki Katayama. Lexus IS design was filed under patent number 1030135 on December 5, 1996 at the Japan Patent Office.
In Japan the first-generation Lexus IS was sold as Toyota Altezza and had a codename XE10. The sales began in October 1998. In Europe the car had a codename GXE10 and debuted as Lexus IS200 in 1999. In the US the JCE10 version was available, also known as Lexus IS300. The first IS generation had 2.0 liter 160hp inline six and a 2.0 liter 200hp inline 4 cylinder engines and was available as a sedan and as a wagon. The wagon was sold in Japan as Altezza Gita and in Europe and the US and Lexus IS SportCross.
First generation of Lexus IS had unique features not available in other Lexus models. These features included a chronograph-style instrument panel, a navigation system with a pop-up screen and a chrome shift knob. The design of Lexus IS has received critical praise. Toyota Altezza received the "Car of the Year" Award in Japan for the model year 1998-1999.
The second generation of IS was launched globally in 2005. The pre-production model was exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 2005 and the production version was shown at the 2005 New York Auto Show in April of the same year. Second generation IS had a V-powered engine and was available in two sedan models, IS250 and IS350.
V8 engine was introduced to the lineup as IS F model in 2007 at the North American Auto Show in Detroit. The acceleration time of IS F from 0 to 60 was 4.6 seconds, the top speed was 170 miles per hour. The third generation premiered in January of 2013 and included a hybrid IS 300h model.
The Altezza name is still used in Japan in reference to the chrome taillights that the first generation of the car had. This taillight style consisted of several internal lamp units located under one clear or tinted cover. It later was copied by a number of other brands and after-market kit manufacturers.