Lexus engineers are working on a new generation of the LS flagship sedan, the nameplate’s fifth, and while there have been reports we’ll see the car make its debut at this month's 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, sources have confirmed it won't be at the automaker's home event. Instead, Lexus will be showing its 2016 GS range, including the new GS F, as well as the 2016 RX and a new concept car which expresses the brand's future vision of progressive luxury.

As for the new LS, the car is expected to hit the market in 2016, as a 2017 model. It will be the first Lexus to ride on a new rear-wheel-drive platform that's also pegged for a flagship coupe based on the LF-LC concept and likely to be called an LC. The LC is expected after the new LS, most likely as a 2018 model.

The new LS is expected to be launched with just two variants: an LS 500 and LS 500h. This ties in with previous reports claiming the car will feature the brand’s 5.0-liter V-8 common to the RC F and GS F models in a base LS 500 model, and a new hybrid setup in a LS 500h model. This hybrid model will most likely be powered by a V-6-based hybrid setup rated at more than 500 hp (such a setup was previewed in the LF-LC concept).

Further down the track some new variants will be launched. We’ve heard that one of these will be a high-performance LS F complete with a twin-turbocharged version of the Lexus 5.0-liter V-8 good for 600 hp. There are also rumors that a technology demonstrator powered by a hydrogen fuel cell may be launched at some point.

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