Mk1 Lexus GS300 sport

[S8QUATTRO]

Anybody have one of these earlier Sports? I think they might fall under a classic insurance policy now.

Not many out there but I'm tempted

[cabbron]

haha what timing, sold mine last week. had it a couple of years to use as a nice sporty sofa type thing a few times a week. lovely old thing. it still did 140 leptons and 27mpg's at a steady 80 without a squeak or rattle and didnt cost a penny other than squirt.

[twink]

My dad used to have one of these a couple of years ago and caned it up and down from home near Liverpool to where he worked in South Wales and back when he was on 5 day shifts down there. Apart from it being heavy on the brakes with it being a big car and thrown down the Welsh roads every week, his had the massive rear wheels too so tyres weren't cheap, servicing was pretty good and it never ever put a foot wrong apart from the air con needing a regas soon after he got it. He was very very sad to see it go. Wouldn't have got rid if he wasn't moving countries.

[S8QUATTRO]

cabbron said:

haha what timing, sold mine last week. had it a couple of years to use as a nice sporty sofa type thing a few times a week. lovely old thing. it still did 140 leptons and 27mpg's at a steady 80 without a squeak or rattle and didnt cost a penny other than squirt.

What colour was yours? My old boss had an m reg non sport when they came out. It dove great and had a smart sound system as standard. I think I'm talking myself into one!!

[Captain Cadillac]

Nice thing about them is the ability to turn them into a serious sleeper...

That's basically a Supra engine under the hood and a Japanese Market twin-turbo was sold.. The engine swap is straightforward and capable of insane power.

[Fire99]

I had one for a while. VERY well put together. Very heavy / solid feeling. Dashboard is still a bit 'jap' looking but you can't have everything. Lots of electic gismos.

Downsides - Front brake calipers can stick. Big tyres (especially if you have the 10" wide rear wheel option) and decent balancing / tracking needed to ensure they drive properly.

Engine is non-VVT at this age, so lacked a bit of low-down grunt and only a 4-speed auto box on the Mk1 (which doesn't help)

However, ultra reliable and comfortable. Not bad looking either.

Oh one other bad point. Rear seats are fixed and the boot isn't huge.

[cabbron]

mine was a deep burgundy n plate and i think it was extremely well built in this era. every single button worked and although it was barely run in with a mere 127k it felt like one of those 300k + capable cars.

Edited by cabbron on Sunday 23 September 14:10

[AC43]

I had one as a rental upgrade in the States when they were new. I really loved it. It handled the twisties south of San Francisco with aplomb. The interior was a bit grey-leather-shoe but the overall package was very good. And I think they're real lookers.