At the end of 1989, Toyota put the world's schmantziest carmakers on notice. Detroit was stumbling aimlessly through its quality nadir. The Europeans were selling finicky machines that were as expensive to buy and maintain as they were enjoyable to drive.

With the arrival of the Lexus LS400, the BMW 7-series and the Mercedes-Benz S-class were suddenly outmoded. The already-marginal Maserati Quattroporte III gave up the ghost and announced its retirement in 1990. Here was a large, comfortable, suitably luxurious automobile fit for a plutocrat that out-Benzed Benz. And did so for significantly less coin.

In fact, looking at the LS400 today, it can be reasonably argued that the design of the original LS holds up better than the W126 and W140 S-classes it fought with for customers.

It's hard to understate how shocking the car was at the time, especially for something that's considered somewhat of a ho-hum, staid vehicle today. In the early '90s, purchasing an LS over one of the European or domestic marques pegged you as a person of means who was both progressive and practical.

Since then, however, Lexus' fortunes have flagged. The cars are often derided as a safe choice for affluent people who don't care much for driving. The company's new product line aims to address that reputation. The polarizing “spindle” grille has proliferated across the range since last year's introduction of the GS--a car that's gone from an also-also-ran to a darling of the motoring press in its latest iteration.

So expectations were heightened for the new LS. Especially the new zoot-besuited F-Sport edition.