After 36 years, the Lexus LS is being put out to pasture as SUVs reign supreme.
Do you remember what you had going on back on May 1989? While some of us weren’t even alive yet, Toyota was launching its Lexus luxury brand with what would become an icon: the LS sedan. The Japanese automaker’s goal was to create a world-class sedan aimed squarely at the European and American heavyweights. This first-generation model brought several firsts to the segment — particularly with regard to technology, by way of its electro-luminescent gauge cluster) and safety. Five generations and nearly four decades later, though, the car that launched the Lexus brand is about to roll into the history books, as the company prepares a 250-unit Heritage Edition as a final year tribute before we wave goodbye to the LS for good.
Specifically, the 2026 Lexus LS 500 Heritage Edition packs the same 3.4-liter twin-turbocharged V6. It still produces 416 horsepower and 442 lb-ft of torque, while sending power to all four wheels through a 10-speed automatic transmission. The changes here, then, are the styling touches that offer a nod to the original LS (or Lexus vehicles that have come since).
The LS 500 Heritage Edition rolls on special 20-inch, 20-spoke wheels, and the body comes in a new Ninety Noir paint hue with an equally novel (for the LS, at least) Rioja Red interior. Lexus embroidered the original Lexus LS’ silhouette onto the headrests, while also offering up an etched emblem on the center console. Like past LS models, a remarkably powerful 2,400-watt, 23-speaker Mark Levinson premium sound system comes standard here. You may consider it a senior special, but that’s definitely enough to destroy whatever’s left of grandpa’s hearing, that’s for sure.
Now, being a luxury sedan, you’d expect the 2026 Lexus LS 500 Heritage Edition to be expensive. And it certainly is: This particular LS comes in at just under $100K. In fact, including the brand’s $1,480 destination fee, the price is $99,280. If that just brought on some heartburn, consider this: There will only be 250 examples of this Heritage edition model, and…we are talking about a sedan that competes against the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and BMW 7 Series. It’s not like any of the cars in this class are cheap.
So prepare to pour one out for the Lexus LS, as it floats off into the sunset. The hybrid LS 500h model is already dead, and this gas-only version will follow soon. The LS 500 Heritage Edition will hit showrooms later this fall.
