How does the 'inspiration' series work?

Ruffle · June 16, 2022

While I love the look of the 2022 Inspiration series, the rear wing swings from love to hate each time I look at it 🙂

Assuming the needle is in the 'love' portion of the dial when I start talking turkey with a dealer; I'm curious as to how the Inspiration series actually works.

I know it's a limited edition but do Lexus build and allocate N inspiration cars to each market or are they each built to order?

Am I likely to get an 'oh they're all sold' response?

Will the 2023 be the same as 2022 or do they change dramatically from year to year?

Yes, I have tried searching but the stuff online is, for a UK dweller, polluted by stuff from the USA so it's hard to clean the info.

Brian R · June 17, 2022

The Inspiration Series car is currently showing on the Lexus UK site and can be configured accordingly. I haven't gone through the ins and outs but try this link for more info:

Inspiration Series

Brian R · June 17, 2022

Whoops wrong link, try this one:

Inspiration Series LC500

Ruffle · June 20, 2022

Thanks for the links Brian. I've visited the page about a zillion times already 🙂

My question was not where does Lexus UK provide the info on the Inspiration but more 'how does the inspiration series work' from the point of view of a new car purchaser. Is it normally a new look for each model year as Lexus are 'inspired'?

AFAICS, the 2022 Inspiration seems to be much the same as the 2021 offering whereas the 2020 model, in the UK, seems to be green without the wing and the 2019 yellow. Again, it's tricky to filter out the north American info but I think that's right.

pgn340r · June 23, 2022

On 6/20/2022 at 10:00 AM, Ruffle said:

Thanks for the links Brian. I've visited the page about a zillion times already 🙂

My question was not where does Lexus UK provide the info on the Inspiration but more 'how does the inspiration series work' from the point of view of a new car purchaser. Is it normally a new look for each model year as Lexus are 'inspired'?

AFAICS, the 2022 Inspiration seems to be much the same as the 2021 offering whereas the 2020 model, in the UK, seems to be green without the wing and the 2019 yellow. Again, it's tricky to filter out the north American info but I think that's right.

I have one on order. It’s a limited edition, only 50 cars worldwide and is on,u available in black with black and red interior.

BrettMRC · July 4, 2022

I can answer some of this for you. 🙂

I have a black inspiration, and on delivery it didn't have the "Inspiration" style build plate like some others I have seen online - instead it has a "Bespoke Build" plate instead.

After some back and forth via the dealer we were able to ascertain that UK cars won't have an individual numbered plate, but the following are true as of last week:

So far 3 black inspirations have been ordered in the UK. (I know of two, my V8 and a hybrid that Lexus Coventry have as a demo car/on eBay... so third is either still in build, or delivered and off the radar)
They expect the total number in the UK to be between 13-15.
Black Inspiration builds will end in March 2023.

Lexus UK were able to confirm the build date on mine, and that I have "No.1" for the UK - first time I've been number 1 for anything! 😁

The wheels, paint, dark chrome and spoiler are stunning in the flesh, (and the spoiler is ever-present in the wing mirrors!) the paint appears deep black to heavily flaked graphite depending on how the light hits it. 🥰

I've got a thread on elsewhere about it, but here's some pics:

Edited July 4, 2022 by BrettMRC
Flickr embed didn't work

Ruffle · July 4, 2022

Wow! That does look splendid and thanks for the info.

I see it's parked outside a Vehicle detailing shop. What did you have done to it or is that your business?

All I need to do now is get a Lexus dealer to let me have a drive in one... which rather disturbingly is proving harder than one might hope 😞

malcolmw · July 4, 2022

@BrettMRC

Is your the one I saw at Hedge End a few wees ago? I thought it looked different to mine having the fixed spoiler.

BrettMRC · July 4, 2022

4 hours ago, Ruffle said:

Wow! That does look splendid and thanks for the info.

I see it's parked outside a Vehicle Detailing shop. What did you have done to it or is that your business?

All I need to do now is get a Lexus dealer to let me have a drive in one... which rather disturbingly is proving harder than one might hope 😞

I had the body, wheels and calipers ceramic coated - they did a really good job. (I'm reusing their photos as my camera skills are a little suspect!)

3 hours ago, malcolmw said:

@BrettMRC

Is your the one I saw at Hedge End a few wees ago? I thought it looked different to mine having the fixed spoiler.

I collected at the end of May, so probably 🙂

Ruffle · July 11, 2022

On 7/4/2022 at 1:39 PM, BrettMRC said:

So far 3 black inspirations have been ordered in the UK. (I know of two, my V8 and a hybrid that Lexus Coventry have as a demo car/on eBay... so third is either still in build, or delivered and off the radar)

You can add a fourth to that list - a V8 of course 🙂

After a bit of initial confusion, that a call to the Sales Manager swiftly resolved, Lexus Cambridge organised a demonstrator and I now have a Black Inspiration on order with a Feb 2023 build date and April delivery. Gosh that's a long time to wait 😞

Driving my XKR (5l V8 Supercharged) and then the LC500 back to back was interesting. The LC is down 40 odd BHP but the way it revs and goes through the gears is entrancing and just as much fun as the low down wall of torque from the Jag. Bit like jumping from a Ducati V Twin to a 4 cylinder Japanese litrebike - both get the to same place but in a very different manner.

PS - I've still heard nothing from Lexus Leicester; seems like they have zero interest in selling an LC500. Shockingly awful pre-sales service. Their loss.

BrettMRC · July 11, 2022

12 minutes ago, Ruffle said:

You can add a fourth to that list - a V8 of course 🙂

After a bit of initial confusion, that a call to the Sales Manager swiftly resolved, Lexus Cambridge organised a demonstrator and I now have a Black Inspiration on order with a Feb 2023 build date and April delivery. Gosh that's a long time to wait 😞

Driving my XKR (5l V8 Supercharged) and then the LC500 back to back was interesting. The LC is down 40 odd BHP but the way it revs and goes through the gears is entrancing and just as much fun as the low down wall of torque from the Jag. Bit like jumping from a Ducati V Twin to a 4 cylinder Japanese litrebike - both get the to same place but in a very different manner.

PS - I've still heard nothing from Lexus Leicester; seems like they have zero interest in selling an LC500. Shockingly awful pre-sales service. Their loss.

Woohoo! 😄

Which interior have you gone with?

RE: Lexus dealer apathy and LC500... I had exactly the same issues, it took trips to 3 dealers before I found one that was actually interested.

(I wonder if they have the same issues Mazda had in the early 90's whereby only certain dealers were allowed to sell them, so the rest of the network gets a bit cagey?)

Ruffle · July 11, 2022

3 hours ago, BrettMRC said:

Which interior have you gone with?

WooHoo Indeed 🙂 🙂 🙂 The wait is going to kill me!

Black/Red LA31. I have a history of black/red interiors (SL500 & XKR) and didn't want to break the trend 🙂

What did you go for? If it's also black/red got any pics? The Lexus website is pretty crap and only shows one pic of a LHD black/red and the other 'real vehicle in the wild' pics found with Google show what I assume is a USA black/tan trim.

Why did you go for a third party ceramic coat instead of the Lexus offering?

Leicester (Inchcape) were weird. Booked test drive on their website. Got confirmation email saying they'd phone; they didn't. Emailed a reminder. No reply. Phoned sales and they found my unactioned request within seconds but then said the only available LC500 was a second hand one which might not be available for a test drive as it was probably being sold. Promised to phone me to say what the situation was and how a test could be arranged... not heard anything since. All very strange and it makes me wonder what they'd be like with a service/warranty issue.

Cambridge (Steven Eagell) relocated their demonstrator from Wolverhampton to Cambridge for me to try which seems a lot more realistic when you're shelling out the thick end of 100K.

BrettMRC · July 11, 2022

Mine is black, with black bits on a black backgound! 🤪

Intersting that it has the full leather seats, not half & half as per a sport+.

I had the same...just no follow through, and at the time Lexus UK had no demonstrators available anywhere in the UK. Lexus Hedge End offered me a go in an early LC500 that was in stock, and that was fine by me as I intend to keep it for a long time - so seeing how one a few years old was wearing seemed a good idea.

I decided on the IGL Kenzo because you never know how good the factory coatings are - and it gave an opportunity to get the wheels and calipers coated too. (and it wasn't daft money either)

Ruffle · July 11, 2022

2 hours ago, BrettMRC said:

it wasn't daft money either

What do you define as not daft? Ballpark will do.

Black on black with extra black bits looks smart... but I'm sticking with my Black/Red choice. It'll probably end up looking like the inside of a low rent brothel 🙂