166 | theceomagazine.com
One of the many substances you can
choose to line the inside of your doors – all
lovingly crafted by obsessive-compulsive
Japanese workers – is a kind of ruched,
interlocking red fabric, which does make you
feel like you’re inside a stomach. It’s unique,
and can be matched with some eye-smacking
Kiriko cut-glass panels if you so desire, or
some man-made timber pieces that have been
laser cut, for yet another Star Wars touch.
Fortunately, there are more subtle
design choices as well and, depending
on which interior you pick, it can feel
luxuriously louche.TAKE A BACK SEAT
As with the Rolls-Royce, the rear is the place
to be, with the person behind the passenger
seat able to use a touch screen to move it all
the way to the dash (it even tucks its headrest
down, out of your way), leaving you with a
whopping 1,022 millimetres of legroom, and
the ability to lie down, stretch out with your
legs on an ottoman, and even get a massage.
You can also play with the Climate
Concierge, which can detect when your butt
is too warm and chill it with some cold air, and
generally keeps the whole cabin at the perfect,
chosen temperature and humidity.
Even the front seats – which can also be
heated or cooled, and are 28-way adjustable- are impressive. Lexus’s designers went to
Tokyo’s best design stores, sat in the comfiest
chairs and then recreated those feelings in
the new LS.
Topping off your leisure time in this vast
living room-on-wheels is an ear-achingly
wonderful Mark Levinson stereo with
23 speakers and 2,400 watts of digital
power, providing a 3D sound experience.
It can even detect the kind of music you’re
rocking to and adjust itself automatically.
We can report that it did a great job with the
theme from The Empire Strikes Back.
The cabin is so lashed with luxury that
you feel like you’ve experienced the joy
of flying first class after riding in it.