#3wtp

Start with a serving of 5-Series GT, mix with a healthy portion of DeTomaso “D’oh-ville,” add a splash of Jag, and garnish with some Opel Insignia. Did we leave anything out in the recipe for “Great Wall SC80”?

Typically, when a focused, well-branded company like BMW buys storied brands and then tries to combine them, the results are less than ideal for all involved. Thus far, BMW had actually been doing a fantastic job with its MINI and Rolls-Royce franchises, expanding into new niches while revitalizing potent brands with high-quality products. But putting the two together? It’s not clear how many buyers will line up for this Rolls-fettled MINI Goodwood (price estimated as high as £50,000), but at least the thing has good historical precedent in the Peter Sellers Mini-Rolls. And compared to some of the modern attempts to create premium city cars (hello Aston Cygnet), that makes this über-priced MINI-mashup something more than a mere cynical play for profits and C02 emission average reductions. In fact, it’s something of a tribute to BMW’s stewardship of two brands that could well have been botched over the past decade or so. Hit the jump for details on the Mini Goodwood’s posh appointments.

According to Lexus

The LF-Gh, which stands for Lexus Future Grand Touring Hybrid, sets out to redefine the premium grand touring sedan. Through this exercise, the definition of L-Finesse, the marque’s design philosophy since 2001, has been refined and evolved to include a bolder, more distinct projection of what a luxury car could become in a modern world. The result is the LF-Gh concept, which conveys original thoughts and ideas that may migrate to future Lexus vehicles on a global scale.

From these teasers, it’s hard to tell what Lexus’s “spindle grille” actually looks like, but the brand says it “hints at the new face of Lexus vehicles.” If nothing else, Lexus seems to be diverging from its arch-conservative stylistic roots, a move that will be interesting to watch given Toyota’s history of success with a substance-over-style strategy.