The picture of the Yakuza, knee deep in the 80s
Long sedans, big wheels and quiet luxury with a focus on aesthetics. These are the cues that paint you the picture of the Yakuza knee deep in the 80s. While these cars were symbolic to these gangs in the far east of the land of the rising sun, it gave rise to a style appreciated all over the globe with it being named "VIP STYLE".
Starting from the 70s, Japanese automobile giants such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda were adjusting to a post war economic advantage and a need for luxury cars from North America. So they all came out with completely different brands that solely focus on the more opulent affairs on wheels. Toyota came out with Lexus, Nissan with Infiniti and Honda made Acura respectively.
Luxury for the People
Since we are featuring one of the most popular and the first ever cars that came out with a Lexus badge, the history lesson with Japanese brands ends here. The LS400 before it gained a cult following in the tuner community, it was always known as the car that gave meaning to "Luxury for the People." A quiet, buttery smooth V8, air suspension, a plethora of interior options that were "First ever" in the car world and in the end, this car provided us the epitome of an engineering marvel with the longevity since there are many examples still running with a million kilometres on the clock with the original engine still intact.
"All black of course, low to the ground, with big wheels."
VIP style, also known as "bippu" in japan, initialised in the late 80s based on the cars that the local criminally active gang, also known as the yakuza, were driving. The Yakuza usually used to roll around on these locally made luxury sedans, all black of course and low to the ground with big wheels; which almost resembled the Euro spec, especially Swiss to put a pin on the map. This culture eventually tapered off to the youth, simply car enthusiasts, that took this style and furthered it to what stands today.
Lithuania's finest, on the LS400 platform
In this article, we feature one of the best VIP builds in Lithuania. Based on the LS400 platform, the car takes cues from many different japanese car cultures like Kaido and Bosozoku with the flared exhaust, LED taillights that follow a dot matrix pattern and the overall stance and wheels, which currently are Carving Head 40 Chrome. The overall car sits on aftermarket Airbags and every other element that comes with a traditional Japanese VIP build.
The interior overall is left original except the steering wheel, which is a period correct wooden Momo wheel; no chandeliers in sight unfortunately.
The real luxury is the minimal visits to the workshop.
In the end, VIP style or completely stock, the LS400 is one of the more well thought out cars that Toyota- I digress, that ever came out with a Lexus badge. The complete focus that was put on engineering the car to be bulletproof and the opulence just on the right places so that the owner realises that they are driving a special car. If I had to put my own verdict, the real luxury that the LS400 achieves is the minimal visits to the workshop; a normative aspect that the engineers took it at heart.
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