Friday, June 14, 1991 - North Shore News - 33

THE EXCITING new Lexus SC
400 sports coupe, introduced in
June 1991, is not only the first
Lexus venture into a new market
niche, itis also the first time for a
totally new design process under-

THE DESIGNERS of the Lexus

Lexus design utilizes innovative concepts

somewhat primitive materials were
used. Balloons
Puris were selected as source ma-
terials. Wet plaster was poured in-
to the balloons, the balloons were
tied off and the wet plaster mix-

SC 400 sports coupe worked

three-dimensionally throughout the entire development of the
styling concept without any conventional sketches or full-size

drawings.

taken at the Toyota design facili-
ty, known as Calty, in Newport
Beach, California.

Early in 1987, Toyota Motor
Corporation (TMC) in Japan re-
quested that Cally create an origi-
nal styling concept proposal for a
luxury performance coupe which
would be appropriate for Lexus.

Caity’s first objective was to
generate a methodology which
would provide the potential for
the design team to create a bold
and distinctive styling image, an
image that would appeal to the
tastes of the high-end luxury
coupe buyers.

Because of Toyota's superior
engineering and technologically
advanced manufacturing capabili-
ties, designers had the freedom 10

ture became the medium for the
designers’ hands.

Once the plaster had hardened,
the resulting shapes were
photographed under dramatic
lighting. These resulting images
were then projected and further
rendered to automotive proportion
to produce images which ultimate-
ly became the inspiration for the
SC 400 shape.

From this point, more conven-
tional styling methods were used.
To transform these images into a
car shape, designers worked
three-dimensionally, using another
primitive material, ceramic clay.
This material is usually found in
the studios of fine art: sculptors
and pottery makers.

The soft and fluid character of

Rome ~ : Pete fare at, Sy,
A ROUGH design was made full-size then passed on to the
engineering side to arrive at the firai torm of the SC 400.

approach design objectives from a
purely artistic and emotional point
of view. Theoretically, the more
advanced Toyota's technology, tic
more artistically primitive could
be the design techniques.

“We tried nat to think of exact-
ly what the car would look like
literally, but more just how it
would feel like emotionally when
you saw it, comments Erwin
Lui, Lexus SC 400 project chief.

The styling theme fur the oew
Lexus coupe wis created by a
human touch ofr hands-en ap-
proach. Designers tried to take the
energs and dynamics from their
bodies and comet it ro shape the
image Of the car, To do this, de-
signers worked theee-dinienstanal-
ly throughout the entire develop:
ment oof the styling concept
without any comennonei sketches

orvull size drawings,
ereate
unique

do suaree of original
shapes. baste and

lo
and

PITCH-IN
CANADA!

7-Passenger,

Brakes, Dual Remote, Power Mirrors,

Wipers, Tilt, RW

and plaster of

Wiper

the water-based clay was perfect
to translate the shape images into
three dimensions, first as a 1/5
scale model and then as a full size
model. The full size modei design
was submitted to Toyota Motor
Cerporation in Japan and there,
remarkably with very few changes,
it became the final desien af the
SC 400 coupe.

EMC accepted the Calty design
and asked if it could refine some
of the areas of the cabin and rear
end. The basic bodyside, frant
tender and hood were liked and
maintained. These were the parts
of the design which came directly
from the abstract plaster unages.

The top surfaces of ine hood
and roof panels were vightened up
to give more contrast. to the
overall form. At this pot the
theme was approved.

To maintain the design imegrity
of the Calty proposal during the
production development, project

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V6 Automatic, AM/FM Cassette, Rear ABS
Rear Heater,

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All Season Readials.

THE FINAL form of the SC 400 shows minimal variation from the
original concept mode!.

Their combined efforts resulted
ia the development of the final
product, the Lexus SC 400.

chief Erwin Lui was sent to Japan
to work together with tne staff at
TMC design centre.

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