Lexus Lens: A Multi-Launch in Miami

Last Wednesday afternoon, we landed in Miami just in time for dinner with Lexus at the Faena Miami Beach hotel’s restaurant Pao. We were in town celebrating the brand’s multi-launch—a three-day excursion and exploration of new mobiles that didn’t just include a new car, but much, much more.

On Thursday, we ventured to the city’s Casa Clara mansion on the Venetian Islands to watch the brand’s first-ever sport yacht make its way to the dock. Approaching, we saw its curved exterior—bronze-colored and luxurious, and equipped with the very same engine in the new automobile.

“This concept for a Lexus sport yacht allowed us to explore how Lexus design language could be applied to a maritime lifestyle,” said Yoshihiro Sawa, Executive Vice President of Lexus International.

From there, we made our way to the detailed Herzog & de Meuron-designed parking garage at 1111 Lincoln Road to indulge in photography lessons from the one-and-only award-winning photographer Greg Williams. There, with Leica cameras in hand, we tried our hand at photographing a live model next to two Lexus cars.

Back at Casa Clara, we got a second schooling, and this time from photographer Gavin Bond outside of the mansion’s garage. Borrowing his lens, we learned how to direct and photograph a model next to a red Lexus coupe, the LC500H, and engaged in a friendly competition to see which photo would end up on that night’s celebratory slideshow.

After a helicopter ride to the nearby Palm Beach International Raceway, and a first-hand experience with an array of Lexus vehicles, we made our way to the Faena Forum to see the week’s most anticipated surprise. Debuting for the first time to the public, and coming to a screen this summer in the new movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, was the Lexus SKYJET. Set for the future—700 years to be exact—was a sleek concept model built for the new movie, and actor Dane DeHaan was in attendance to introduce it.

“I have always wanted to work with Luc Besson because he really hones in on every single detail in his films, bringing the narrative to life in the most imaginative way possible. The collaboration with Lexus on the SKYJET is a great example of this, Valerian’s epic chase scenes with the SKYJET are sure to be one of the most exhilarating moments in the film,” said DeHaan.

We got a good look at the spectacle, a symbol of Lexus’ dynamic move toward contemporary culture with a few astronomical punches.