We’d be lying if we said we didn’t know this was coming for a while: the Lexus GS mid-size sedan is finally ending production this August, according to a report by Yahoo Japan. For those who haven’t been keeping track, the current-gen GS has been around since 2011, back when Barack Obama was still in his first term and The Avengers was still just a comic book. It’s been a long time coming, is what we’re saying.
Its discontinuation also lines up with that huge Toyota product plan leak we reported on last month which not only foretold the GS’ death but also its replacement, a Lexus version of Toyota’s luxuriously rear-wheel-drive Mirai hydrogen-electric sedan.
To mark the GS’ departure, a special “Eternal Touring” edition of the car is being introduced in its home market of Japan featuring a bunch of black trim, 19-inch F Sport wheels, and orange brake calipers on select engine choices. It’s a similar setup to the special edition Lexus’ U.S. arm not-so-coincidentally trotted out this week: the Black Line special edition of which only 200 will be made.
The Lexus GS launched in North America in 1993 as a rebadged Toyota Aristo, packing the legendary 2JZ inline-six engine (minus the turbos, of course.) A competitor to the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series, it added V6 and V8 power in its three subsequent generations.
As decent of a car as it is, the Lexus GS hasn’t been a popular choice over its competitors for quite a while now, mostly due to its age. In 2019, Lexus sold just 3,378 examples, about half what it did in 2018 and making it the slowest-selling Lexus outside of the LC and LFA. Three LFAs were sold last year, in case you were unaware. In the same year, BMW sold 38,709 copies of the 5 Series. That’s more than 11 Bimmers for every Lexus.
Additionally, sedan sales in general have been plummeting in recent years as buyers switched en masse to crossovers and SUVs. It doesn’t make much sense for Lexus to have this many sedans in its portfolio anymore.
While its demise came as no big surprise, we’re still kinda sad to see the GS go. The 467-hp GS F was one of the only new cars period, let alone luxury sedans, in which you could still get a big, naturally-aspirated V8.
So, R.I.P. to the big-ish Lexus who’s looking down at us right now because all Good Sedans go to heaven. That is what GS stands for, right?
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