Dark Emerald Pearl LX 450 Built for Overlanding Anywhere
Spending its whole life in the Southeastern U.S., 1997 LX 450 includes a roof basket and retractable awning with LED lighting for outdoor fun.
In the mid-1990s, Lexus sought to expand their offerings beyond their sedan and coupe offerings. Spurred on by potential tariff sanctions, they took the Toyota Land Cruiser and made it their own: the LX. The LX 450 would be the first in a long line of luxury off-roaders from Nagoya, even though this generation was more of a quick badge-swap due to what would’ve befallen the rest of Lexus’s lineup at the time.
Luckily, those sanctions did not come. Instead, we get to treasure the LX 450 for all it could do. One such example just hit Bring a Trailer a while ago, and it’s ready for a different sort of rough patch.
This 1997 model is among the last of the first-gen LX 450s built before the second-gen LX 470 hit the market in the second quarter of 1998. Over the past quarter-century, it’s never once lived anywhere but the Southeastern United States. Three owners and one dealer later, the luxury Lexus SUV has leaned heavily upon its Land Cruiser roots.
Under the hood resides the 4.5-liter 1FZ-FE inline-six, which sent 215 horses and 275 lb-ft of torque through a four-speed automatic and dual-range transfer case to the back or all corners back in the day. Those corners, by the way, are now adorned by a set of 17-inch Pro Comps with a suspension lift to accommodate them. Meanwhile, the inline-six has logged over 231,000 miles in its 25 years of service.
Inside, the three rows of luxury seating in the LX 450 received some TLC to bring them back to snuff. There’s a new heater core from the dealer to keep things cozy up in the mountains, too. Up top, a roof basket and retractable canopy with LED lights make this SUV the perfect camping vehicle.
This LX 450 represents the moment Lexus went in on what was becoming the hottest market segment around. Who knows what would’ve happened if those tariff threats had not been made. Either way, rides like this offer Lexus fans the opportunity to explore the great outdoors like never before.
Photos: Bring a Trailer
Join the Club Lexus forums now!
