Ichiro Suzuki

Designing everything anew under the "F1" project, with no budget or deadline set

Toyota chairman Eiji Toyoda launched a secret project, "F1", to build a luxury sedan that could compete with the world's best. Under this project, which set no budget or deadline and used none of Toyota's existing platforms or parts, chief engineer Ichiro Suzuki designed everything anew, aiming to beat the flagship sedans of America and Europe in aerodynamics, cabin quietness, top speed and fuel economy. Vibration and noise were suppressed by reducing them at their source ("source countermeasures"), and the car came out as the Lexus LS400 in North America and the Celsior in Japan.