It's been ten years since Lexus debuted the GS sedan, the first model to wear its controversial, yet distinctive spindle grille. This polarizing styling cue first appeared on the LF-Gh concept in 2011, upon which the GS was heavily based.
Over the years, the spindle grille has grown and evolved, with plenty of criticism along the way. In fact, Lexus's former boss, Kiyotake Ise, knew this from the start. "You should be able to identify a car as a Lexus immediately," he said at the grille's unveiling. "It may look aggressive at first glance, that's intentional, but it also conveys its boldness with sophistication and elegance."
The spindle grille has become the primary design cue of Lexus, to the extent that it doesn't just adorn the front fascia of its cars. It even made an appearance on the Skyjet spacecraft featured in Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and as a design feature in the award-winning Lexus and Brussels Airlines lounge, the Loft, at Belgium's Brussels Airport.
But as EVs continue to dominate the car world, grilles are no longer necessary. Despite the controversy surrounding the spindle grille, Lexus will continue to use it as a prominent part of its designs by evolving it into what it calls the "spindle body," which first debuted on the RZ450e electric crossover. The grille itself is no longer there, but its overall shape remains and is framed by black cladding below the headlights. The spindle body has also made its way to the next-generation RX crossover, where it keeps the bottom half of the grille, which fades into the sculpted sheetmetal above it.
Do you love or hate the spindle grille?
Images: Lexus
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