The Lexus LS Family is a 6-Wheel Van, Coupe SUV, and Single-Person Pod

TOKYO—The brand's flagship is re-imagined as an entire lineup of vehicles (and a personal mobility pod).

To be reborn, first something needs to die. After launching the brand and sticking around for 36 years, the Lexus LS sedan is riding off into the sunset. The badge isn't disappearing, however. Lexus on Wednesday revealed a gaggle of concepts covering land, sea, and air—yes, really—but the highlight was arguably a trio of LS-badged concepts, headed up with a big, swanky box on (six) wheels.

Vans have a much different reputation in Japan, one free of the negative connotations that have decimated the segment in North America. They are the ultimate in space and comfort, and really, what's more luxurious than that? To that end, Lexus is reimagining what those two letters even mean here: "Luxury Space" is what the three-axle, three-row box on wheels is all about.

It's certainly dramatic. The LS concept reinterprets Lexus' trademark spindle grille into an entire front-end graphic, with the LED lighting stretching right to the corners. The flanks are intentionally slab-sided, with contrasting finishes and thin strips of bodywork pulling detailing duty. Dramatic taillights align with the striping along the sides of the LS, framing a protruding rear glass section. This opens upward, with slide-out (and -down) shelf for loading luggage.

Inside the massive slide-open side door, the cabin is all warm textures and calming, indirect ambient lighting. The middle-row seats can recline and even rotate, so that passengers can face the third row. Many of the materials are either recycled or sustainable, including the hand-carved bamboo, which Lexus says was designed to allow a private view out without the need for heavily tinted glass. Two massive glass panels stretch length-wise across the roof, ensuring there is still plenty of natural light.

And why the third axle? To maximize interior space. The challenge came from Akio Toyoda himself, as the novel approach makes for less interior intrusion.

"Imagine the LS plus the LC." Those are the words of Ian Cartabiano, president of Toyota's Calty design center, which was responsible for the second LS concept of the event, the LS Coupe. No, it's not an actual two-door, but a coupe in the swoopy four-door sense (thanks a lot, Mercedes). It's also an elevated one, further blurring the lines between car and SUV—or, making much more sense of the "crossover" term, depending on your view.

The Coupe has a much more flowing, organic look to it than the upright, architectural LS. A low nose features a same-but-different light signature, squinty headlights, and deep air intakes ahead of the windshield. Viewed in profile the LS Coupe is all exaggerated proportions, with a deep vent aft of the front wheels and lightning bolt-like roofline, which incorporates the rear spoiler. A simple tail includes only the barest of detailing, with no shutlines as it too, like the LS van, features a slide-out storage shelf. A small triangular back-up light built into the diffuser is a nod to the triple-exhaust LFA, a feature shared with the pretty Sport Concept. Like that car, there is also a deployable drone built into the rear window; it can offer passengers a view of their trip, capture an adventure, or even run ahead of the LS as a guide on-track.

We especially like the massive wheels, which feature acrylic covers as a modern-day nod to the rally icons of the '80s. These covers are engraved on the inside and feature lighting elements, providing a fascinating "spiderweb" effect at night.

The LC Coupe cabin goes big on bamboo, with much of the woodwork hand-carved from a forest Lexus owns. Even the dark green faux-leather seats are created from bamboo, while there are genuine mother of pearl inlays dotted throughout the cabin.

Lexus is pitching this as the hypothetical one-car solution, with an engaging drive but also more comfort (and space) than a typical luxury sedan. While it didn't touch on the powertrain, the flat floor and low nose point to an all-electric powertrain. The cabin emphasizes this driver's car approach too, with the two-tone interior separating out the driver's seat with a darker material than the rest of the interior. Screens abound too, including a fold-out, transparent OLED screen ahead of the front passenger. Meanwhile there are "nesting" screens ahead of the driver, and large touchscreens on the seatbacks for the second-row riders. These latter items will allow folks to have face-to-face talks with their front-row friends (via camera feed), or take in the view from a nose-mounted camera or the drone zipping around overhead. That sounds like a great way to fast-track carsickness...

Somehow outdoing the six-wheeled minivan on the weirdness scale is the final member of the concept family, the LS Micro. It has half the number of wheels and seats just one person, as Lexus intends for the Micro to be a last-mile solution for the well-heeled.

The Micro takes the interior ambiance of the LS concept and reduces it down to a single-seat setup. There are still plenty of soft-touch materials and hand-carved bamboo, including the "waterfall" directly behind the seat. Like a mobile first-class seat, the cabin looks cozy, and is even designed to fit a wheelchair: Lexus wants to emphasize mobility for everybody, after all. Two outboard wheels frame the nose, which opens up like a jewel box for ingress and egress, like the world's fanciest Isetta.

What is so stunning about the Micro, at least to this writer, is how un-car-like the package is. Cartabiano says this was intentional: the design team knew trying to shrink car design elements to such a petite package would result in a toy car look, so the mission was to go architectural instead. The rear end is certainly daring, with two close-set blades of LED lighting framing a vertical instance of the Lexus wordmark. This section of the Micro can slide out, and fits one carry-on luggage. Handy.

One lone wheel hangs out back. Maybe it's how this wheel is mounted, or maybe it's the Japan setting, but to these eyes there's more than a hint of Kaneda's bike from Akira. Not bad company, that.

Do we expect any of these models to show up relatively unchanged in production form? No, probably not—the LS Coupe looks arguably closest to production, mind you. Though as Cartabiano points out after a show-floor walkaround, Lexus doesn't often do concepts that don't inform future products. It's clear the brand still sees value in the badge that launched it all those years ago, and is willing to invest in its future by daring to think outside the box. Or think with boxes, really.

Become an AutoGuide insider. Get the latest from the automotive world first by subscribing to our newsletter here.