The model was unveiled at last year’s Pebble Beach Concours D’Elegance, featuring the carmaker’s new ‘spindle grill’ front end as shown on the popular CT 200h compact hybrid. As well as its traditional rival the Infiniti M35h, for the first time it will also face stiff competition from Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, all of whom are releasing high performance hybrid models in this segment.

UK buyers will be given a choice of three trim levels for the GS 450h. The cheapest of the three, Luxury, is designed to appeal to the heartland Lexus customer, with 18-inch alloy wheels, HDD navigation, 10-way adjustable front seats with heating and cooling functions and a blind spot detection system among its standard equipment.

Premier, which sits at the top of the new GS range, adds 18-way adjustable seats and a Mark Levinson sound system with 12.3-inch dashboard display screen- claimed to be the largest available in its class. Automatic boot closing and rear sunshades are also included as standard.

The GS 450h will be available with Lexus’s recently introduced performance-focused F Sport trim grade. This features a sports styling pack inside and out, 19-inch alloy wheels, sports seats Adaptive Variable Suspension with selectable drive modes and the Lexus Dynammic Handling system to up driver appeal.

Prices start at £44,995 for the Luxury trim, while F Sport and Premier models are priced at £50,995. UK buyers will also be able to buy an entry-level non-hybrid GS 250, which starts at £32,995 in the most basic SE trim and isn’t available with the Premier pack.