Hot on the heels of the announcement that the next generation of the LS sedan will break cover during a special event in San Francisco on Monday, July 30, Lexus has now released the first official teaser image of its luxury model that will take on the Audi A8, BMW 7-Series and Mercedes-Benz S-Class, also due for a replacement.

The photo shows blue-tinted streaks of smoke that outline the shape of the new LS, which will be marketed as a 2013 model in North America.

Not much but we expect the Japanese carmaker to provide more information and possibly additional images over the next week or so.

Lexus previously told us that the 2013 LS will be available as the V8-powered LS 460, LS 460 L long wheelbase, LS 600h L hybrid sedan and the all-new LS 460 F SPORT, which we suspect will encompass a similar range of styling and chassis upgrades to the new GS F-Sport models.

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