What is a Premium Brand's Auto Salon? | Lexus

LEXUS

A New Form: A Premium Brand at the Auto Salon

It's not uncommon for car brands, particularly Japanese manufacturers, to exhibit at the Tokyo Auto Salon, Japan's largest event for the aftermarket parts and custom car industry. However, a solo exhibition by a premium brand is a significant novelty. Lexus showcased four custom cars under the codename "2UX3J," presenting new possibilities for the Auto Salon.

Text & Photographs by SUZUKI Fumihiko (OPENERS)
& OTSUKI Takuma (OPENERS)

2UX3J: The Other Side of Lexus

The joy of driving, self-expression through cars, and glamorous dance performances by women──While incorporating many elements typical of the custom car festival, Tokyo Auto Salon, Lexus brought a fresh perspective.

Previously, Lexus had displayed a few models within the Toyota booth. This year, however, they opted for a standalone booth. The cohesive presentation created a distinct atmosphere, making other exhibits seem conventional by comparison. Remarkably, the booth bore no Toyota or even Lexus branding. Instead, Lexus exhibited under the codename 2UX3J.

Viewed from the back, 2UX3J reveals itself as LEXUS.

“LS 600h F SPORT,”GS 450h F SPORTand the circuit-exclusive model "IS F CCS-R," a rare gem, along with the exceptionally rare "LFA SPIDER." Lexus artistically customized these four vehicles, likening them to fierce beasts. The exhibition under the name 2UX3J, signifying "backside Lexus," was a deliberate choice to emphasize aspects beyond the refined image of a luxury sedan, highlighting a different facet of the brand.

LS 600h F SPORT

GS 450h F SPORT

IS F CCS-R

LFA SPIDER

To elaborate on the individual models: the "LS 600h F SPORT" features a wrap designed by Masanori Morikawa, designer for the fashion brand "CHRISTIAN DADA," inspired by a black panther. Its body, with a texture akin to three-dimensional fabric, is adorned with 500 fang-like studs.

The "GS 450h F SPORT" also sports a wrap, this time themed around a "silver wolf" and featuring graphics by artist Tadaomi Shibuya. Applied with exceptional skill to the car's contours, black graphics depicting the internal organs and bones of a wolf create the illusion that the GS has become a living creature of flesh and bone.

For the "IS F CCS-R," airbrush artist Toru Shibata captured the car's dynamic movement on the circuit, likening it to a puma. The paintwork, which gives the impression of the car stretching backward, conveys the sense of a photograph capturing a speeding vehicle.

Finally, for the "LFA SPIDER," the acclaimed digital art creative team "WOW" applied projection mapping to the car's body, making its V10 engine appear to pulse like the heartbeat of a living organism.

On the opening day of the Auto Salon, dancers, styled as wild animal tamers, performed alongside dynamic visuals.LFAThe distinctive high-pitched exhaust note of the LFA filled the venue.

In that moment, a story unfolded without words, brilliantly expressing Lexus's performance and the sheer pleasure of driving. While it may sound exaggerated, this artistic expression using cars as a medium suggests a new direction for automotive customization. Considering Lexus's recent evolution into a more driver-focused marque, one cannot help but feel that 2UX3J is not merely an "other side" but is becoming an integral part of Lexus's public face.