Lexus Just Updated the LS Sedan — and America Can't Buy One
The refreshed LS goes on sale in Japan as a six-version, hybrid-only lineup with a higher entry price. In the U.S., the 250-car Heritage Edition is already the official send-off.
Lexus has given its flagship LS sedan another round of chassis and interior updates and put the revised car on sale in Japan on September 10. American buyers won't see any of it: Lexus USA has already labeled the 2026 LS 500 Heritage Edition a final-year tribute, and its 2027 lineup page lists no LS at all.
The Japanese update is what Toyota calls a partial improvement, not a facelift. Beyond the existing front- and rear-end bracing, the body now gets a reinforced center tunnel. The rear suspension brace and the trunk brace are coated with a thermosetting resin that is baked on to damp high-frequency vibration, a treatment Lexus calls REDS, for Response-Enhancing Damping Structure. The adaptive dampers and the electric power steering were retuned alongside it, and the automaker says the result is a more linear steering response with less body roll and pitch.
Inside, a panoramic roof with a mesh wind deflector is now a factory option across the range. The top EXECUTIVE grade adds more interior color combinations built around a kiriko-style cut-glass ornament panel and semi-aniline leather. The press photos also show the word LEXUS spelled out across the trunk lid, a detail the release text doesn't mention.
The lineup quietly shrinks to six hybrids
The more telling change is in the price list. The updated LS is offered only as the LS 500h, powered by the 3.5-liter V6 hybrid, in F SPORT, version L, and EXECUTIVE trims with rear- or all-wheel drive. Japanese prices run from ¥14,140,000 for the F SPORT to ¥18,050,000 for the EXECUTIVE AWD, tax included.
That's six versions. When Lexus last updated the LS in Japan, in September 2025, its price list carried 16, including the twin-turbo gasoline LS 500 and an entry-level I package trim on both powertrains. The cheapest LS then was a gasoline I package at ¥11,110,000. The new floor is ¥3,030,000 higher, and even like-for-like the hybrids cost more: the F SPORT is up ¥350,000, the version L ¥470,000, and the EXECUTIVE ¥320,000.
Lexus hasn't said the gasoline car or the I package are discontinued. They simply don't appear in the new price table, so the correct reading is that the updated LS is currently hybrid-only in Japan, not that the LS 500 has been formally killed.
Where that leaves the U.S.
The LS launched in the United States in 1989 and, as Lexus itself puts it, laid the foundation for the brand. The U.S. story has already been written, though. In September 2025, Lexus USA announced the 2026 LS 500 AWD Heritage Edition as the only LS available for the model year, limited to 250 cars at $99,380 including a $1,550 delivery fee, and described it as a final-year tribute to the car that launched the brand. It uses the 3.4-liter twin-turbo V6 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft, the engine that now appears to be gone from the Japanese range as well.
Lexus USA's What's New for 2027 page, updated September 1, covers the ES, IS, NX, and TZ but no LS, and Lexus.com currently describes the remaining Heritage Edition cars as the final few at select dealers. Automotive News reported last fall that the LS's exit leaves Lexus with just two sedans in the U.S., the IS and the ES.
The Japanese release says nothing about other markets, and Lexus hasn't indicated that the updated car will be exported. For now, the sharpest version of the sedan that built Lexus is a Japan-only product, and the U.S. gets a 250-unit send-off with the engine Japan just dropped from its price list.
