It positive appears like we have come to the top of the road with the Lexus LS. After launching it 36 years in the past for the 1990 mannequin yr, the automaker appears to offer the LS a fond farewell with the 2026 LS 500 AWD Heritage Version. Simply 250 examples will head to our shores, they usually’re priced at a quite steep $99,280, together with vacation spot.
The Heritage Version is slated to be the one LS mannequin obtainable when manufacturing ends this fall, in response to Lexus. To mark the event, the Japanese automaker goes all out with… black paint. Okay, to be truthful it is particular black paint. Lexus is looking it Ninety Noir, and it pairs with darkish trim items and 20-inch alloy wheels completed in Darkish Grey Metallic. The inside will get taken up a notch with a particular Rioja Purple inside, a primary for the LS. It’s going to additionally get etched Heritage Version emblems on the middle console and embroidered silhouettes of the LS stitched into the headrests.
You will not be shocked to be taught that this LS comes kitted out with a panoramic glass roof, wooden trim, Ultrasuede headliner, a 360-degree digicam, heated rear seats, a 12.3-inch touchscreen, a head-up show and a 23-speaker 2,400-watt Mark Levinson stereo system, amongst a slew of different choices. Underneath the hood, you are not going to seek out something out of the bizarre. All Heritage Editions include the identical twin-turbocharged 3.4-liter V6 you may discover in the common LS 500. That is not precisely a nasty factor, although. The stout motor pumps out a wholesome 416 horsepower and 442 pound-feet of torque. With the assistance of a 10-speed computerized transmission and all-wheel-drive with a limited-slip differential, the large bruiser of a sedan can get from 0 to 60 mph in simply 4.6 seconds.
What comes subsequent
It is onerous to say precisely the place the Lexus LS goes from right here. Gross sales have been iffy to say the least. In 2024, Lexus bought 2,163 LS within the U.S., and thru June of 2025, it bought simply 691 of them. Comparatively, Mercedes-Benz bought 8,810 S-Lessons in 2024.
I would not be wholly shocked if Lexus brings a couple of successor to the LS in some unspecified time in the future, however I’ve bought a sense it will not be for a short time. Lexus could be very clearly taking part in its playing cards near its chest. After I requested a spokesperson if the Heritage Version represented the “finish of the LS line for Lexus,” they merely responded that it was “the ultimate providing for the present technology LS,” giving no indication of what may come subsequent.
The LS is arguably Lexus’ most essential car — in spite of everything, the LS began the entire model off within the late Nineteen Eighties. Whereas it could be a disgrace to see the LS go away, I can perceive that the automotive world has principally moved on from this sort of car. I suppose time will inform.
