Meet Celsior

[steve.ledger]

My son Derek's new love....err, car.
I spent some of my weekend being 'chauffeur' driven around the district - here's some photos taken with my PENTAX *istDS.

Briefly, the story is that this imported Toyota Celsior (sold as the LEXUS LS400 outside Japan) has been purchased ahead of a tandem trailer on which the Sprinter AE86 will be towed to motor sport events.
The vehicle is in amazing condition for it's 19 years. Leather seats and electric everything. The rear seats are even heated and massage the passenger at the press of a button!
It has a 6 CD stacker in the boot which still functions fine!
Strangest gadget of all are the side mirror demisters that fire out streams of air from the frame edge.
The only thing not working is the phone in the rear centre console.

[steve.ledger]

Here's the strange de misterometers

[Jimi King]

Those are ultrasonic shaker (piezo) mirrors. They loosen snow, frost and ice and then there's a heater element behind that melts the rest away in the following couple of minutes.

However, you'll probably find that you have a secondary mirror that will have been stuck on top of the original to comply with Australian Design Rules when the car was imported. So the heater part at least might not work so well.

[Burpee]

Very strange and unusual but so cool. Great pics of the car. I can't believe it's 19 years old....such great condition. You pay a fortune for a Lexus over here and Toyotas are rated one of the best cars for wearability. I've never owned a foreign car but I'm sure that will change some day.

[steve.ledger]

Thanks Jimi,

The car was privately imported by the previous owner. The Celsior was never officially imported for sale in Australia.
The mirrors are the originals and yes they do vibrate and warm up.

Nancy Derek got this at a great price.
Buying a new tandem trailer will cost him an additional $4k

[Jimi King]

Yes you are correct, the Celsior is merely the home grown Toyota equivalent of the LS400. In fact it's actually much higher spec. I drive a 98 UK marketed LS and they still didn't have the fancy mirrors here 7 years on.

It's a great car for not a lot of money. That Lexus V8 engine is generally regarded as one of the best V8's ever made. It'll outlive you or I (even if the car doesn't).

The reason I know so much is because I have been running this site for the last 10 years (all graphics designed in Xtreme, even the logo came from one of Gary's tutorials), which deals with a different grey import version of a class Toyota. Same mirrors, same engine on the 4 litre model as the LS.

Tell your son to get a new set of HT leads for his one (and change the plugs if they haven't been done in recent history). It'll drive like a Rolls Royce and give him better fuel consumption.

[steve.ledger]

Actually a friend of Derek's is after getting the Soarer MZ21 (GT-Limited) for a similar purpose.

I have to say, the Celsior feels great to ride in.

[Jimi King]

I'd advise against the MkII Soarer. Actually I'd steer clear of the early MkIII's as well (getting a bit long in the tooth and becoming costly to maintain). If you can find a good 94+ model it's worth paying a little extra for.

[steve.ledger]

I'll pass that along, but I think the fella has his heart set. He has already found one in Japan and now has to organise purchase and arrange import.

According to my son, there's been a recent change whereby a car has to be min 20 years old before you are permitted (privately) to import it to Australia.

Thanks for the tip re the leads and plugs. In fact he's already onto it and has found what he needs (complete set) from a UK supplier cheaper than he can get here.

Here's a side-on shot. It's actually a few cm longer than my '94 Commodore VR Station Wagon ('Estate' for UK viewers)

[Burpee]

A very nice looking car.