Some of us were appalled and entertained by the Lexus spindle grille on the 2011 Lexus CT 200h. “Really?” we asked. A cow catcher will be the signature design feature for all future Lexus models?

Lexus officials say they had no choice but to veer in a wild new direction. Stalled growth and a bland global image were calling for a drastic, over-the-top makeover. Lexus had no choice. Thus the symbol of the new Lexus became a spindle. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact Toyota started corporate life as a loom company. (We can call the Toyota to Lexus story From Loom to Spindle.). In any case, I remain appalled at the spindle and (somewhat) humbled by its success.

2011 Lexus CT 200h

The shocking truth is that the spindle has somehow managed to spin Lexus in a new marketplace direction. Lexus sales have grown 42 per cent since 2010, to 583,000 vehicles last year. This year alone in Canada, Lexus sales are up nearly 27 per cent. New entries like the NX crossover have spurred much of that growth, but the “shock therapy” of the spindle has been central to the reinvention of Lexus.

That was the intent, says Lexus president and design chief Tokuo Fukuichi, the former Toyota Previa “bubble” van designer who is also head of design at the Toyota and Scion brands and a board member of parent Toyota Motor. He is said to have the full support of CEO Akio Toyoda.

Fukuichi says he was never worried that the new Lexus design language would do lasting damage to Lexus. “Even polarizing designs, you get used to them after a while,” he tells Automotive News, no doubt thinking back to the 1989 Previa.

Tokuo Fukuichi, Lexus president and design chief

The head of Lexus design was the designer who brought us the 1989 Toyota Previa bubble van.

That was a core idea in play back in 2011 when Fukuichi took over Lexus design. His mandate: sex things up at a brand know for its anonymous, uninventive, design-by-committee shapes, curves, creases and details. In interviews, Fukuichi notes that he and CEO Toyoda agreed that while Lexus vehicles have always boasted bullet-proof quality, no one was passionate about Lexus design.

To create space between Lexus and its German rivals – and perhaps eventually to challenge super luxury brands such as Aston Martin and Maserati — Lexus needed to take risks that spark creativity, he tells Automotive News.

“Toyota-Lexus finally came to the realization that design was not one of their core strengths,” John Manoogian, a professor of automotive design at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and a former General Motors designer, tells the industry publication, adding that “Until a company realizes that design needs to be a part of the corporation’s strategic vision, design remains an afterthought…I give them high grades for recognizing the need for change in design and for the courage to step up to the challenge and do something.”

And so we were given the 2011 CT and its successors. Still, the spindle did not materialize out of nowhere. In fact, it has its roots in Lexus models going back to the 2003 ES. The spindle is an evolution of something that has been playing around inside Lexus for more than a decade.

2003 Lexus ES 300

The latest Lexus models simply jumped a few generations in what would normally be the methodical evolution of Lexus design. The most dramatic design moves came with the 2013 ES 350 and the 2013 GS. The recent NX crossover took the spindle to another place entirely. But if you look closely at the 2003 ES, you’ll see the roots of spindle.

2013 Lexus GS 350

To be fair, not all spindles are created the same or equal. On the 2016 Lexus IS 350, a sedan aimed at BMW’s 3-Series, the jagged-edged trapezoid is in fact less offensive, not so overwrought. Perhaps that’s because in a somewhat miniaturized version, the fish mouth doesn’t dominate – I am not afraid it will swallow me whole. On the other hand, on the all-new 2016 RX 350, what some are calling a “snow-plow face” is massive and frightening.

The downsized spindle grille on this 2016 Lexus IS is less startling and offensive.

2016 Lexus RX 350

Whatever you or I think of it, future Lexus models will sport further takes on the spindle. Moreover, the body proportions, according to various reports, will get lower, the overall look edgier, even more daring – or shocking.

Up until very recently, the Lexus brand stood only for comfort, quality and customer service. Love it or hate it, the spindle says that Lexus now wants to be known as a car brand that is dangerous and daring and not afraid to offend.

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