In 1993, after sales commenced for the first generation S140 series, development began on the successor under the internally known codenamed S160. The design process began under chief engineer Yasushi Nakagawa in May 1994 and by November 1995 after 18 months of design work, the final production design by Akihiro Nagaya was approved by the executive board. In January 1997, Lexus debuted the "High Performance Sedan" (HPS) concept at the Detroit Auto Show, previewing the design direction for the redesigned GS.[
The second generation sedans used a new front-engine, rear-wheel drive midsize platform, also featured in the Japanese-market Toyota Crown.[15] The new model's styling was produced in-house, and featured quadruple headlights (the interior two of which were elliptical) in a fashion similar to the Lexus SC coupe. It had a drag coefficient of Cd=0.30. Inside, electroluminescent Optitron gauges were offered for the first time, along with an upgraded stereo system. For export markets, the second generation GS began production in the JZS161 body style on 4 August 1997 and was officially launched in October 1997.
The Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) was the first to lay claim to the GS model, first naming it the Aristo. This vehicle and the American GS300 were nearly identical, except for the right hand drive configuration, and the cloth seat availability found in the JDM version.
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