Lexus launched the second generation of the GS in 1997, and three years later, it introduced the facelifted version, with a slightly new design and a bigger engine.
Slowly but surely, Lexus started to climb on the premium car market, and it gathered more and more attention. Its leading position in the reliability index made the car more appealing than before. Even though it lacked some areas compared to the Mercedes-Benz and BMW, the Japanese brand started to get traction.

Giugiaro designed the first generation of the GS, and Akihiro Nagaya drew the lines of the second. He imagined the four-headlights front fascia, which was kept after the facelift, but slightly darkened. The Japanese designer improved the grille with vertical, chromed slats instead of a dark one. The taillights were slightly modified in the back, with the reversing light placed on the bottom instead of the middle part of the lamps.

Inside, Lexus installed more wood on the dash, door panels, and center console. It followed the idea that wood and leather will make the car looks more up-market. There was wood on the steering wheel and on the gear selector as well.

Under the hood, Lexus installed a choice of two engines: a six-cylinder 3.0-liter and a 4.3-liter V8. While the first was carried over from the non-facelifted version, the latter evolved from its predecessor’s former 4.0-liter unit. Both versions were mated to a 5-speed automatic gearbox. For selected markets, the GS430 featured standard Xenon headlamps.