The joy of six: Lexus reinvents its top limo as a six-wheel ultra-lux VAN

They’ve only gone and done it. A few weeks ago Lexus teased the idea of a minivan with two big wheels to steer up front, and four teeny wheels to power itself along at the back. And we thought someone had been at the sake.

But no. It’s for real. Well, a concept anyway. Welcome to the Lexus LS Concept. That’s LS meaning ‘Luxury Space’, you understand.

WTF? Well, Lexus solemnly tells us that "luxury sedans are fighting a losing battle against SUVs". So, there wasn’t much point in replacing the old LS with a Mercedes S-Class clone.

Photography: Toby Thyer/manufacturer

And now Century is being launched as Toyota’s new mega-luxury brand full of traditional craftsmanship, that allowed Lexus to pop its tie off, undo a few shirt buttons and basically make a cross between a sexy Renault Espace and a centipede. We’re on-board.

You’ll want to be, actually. Because this thing looks roomy and relaxing. Tiny rear wheels intrude less into the cabin so it’s a spacious lounge with multiple reclining seat configurations. There’s slatted bamboo screens for privacy, lavish mood lighting and easy access thanks to a vast electric door that looks like it belongs on an aircraft hangar. In space.

Clearly, it’s designed for a chauffeur experience. What’s interesting is the LS isn’t envisaged as an autonomous pod. It very clearly has a driver’s cockpit, set up for a human. Perhaps because a six-wheeler van is closer to reality than a reliable self-driivng car…

Because it’s electric, it doesn’t need the big Lexus ‘spindle’ grille for cooling. So that’s been ‘re-interpreted’ with LED strips so you’re sure it’s a Lexus you’re looking at. As if you’d get it confused with all the other giant luxury six-wheeler MPVs milling around.

Insiders say the concept was dreamt up entirely by the design department without input from pesky engineers – who would have pointed out Lexus has no current platform to support this, and bespoke spare tyres might be a tad pricey.

But who cares? This is what concept cars are all about. And there’s no way the European old guard would dare to dream up something this bonkers.