It looks as it is quietly begging ”Take a chance on me!”, Bjorn Ulvaeus´ luxurious 1995 Lexus LS 400.
In August 1997 Bjorn Kristian Ulvaeus, one of the ”B:s” in ABBA, took delivery of his new Japanese luxury car and drove home to Djursholm, the poshest neighborhood in Stockholm. Or was it an American luxury car?
Toyota created the Lexus brand specifically to be able to compete with BMW and Mercedes on the US market. Ahead of the development of the LS 400 Toyota sent a big team of designers and marketing people to California in order to study the lifestyle of potential customers. The Lexus LS 400 buyer was identified as a 43-year old white American male, making at least 100 000 dollars a years - in the monetary value of 1987.
The new Lexus set a new standard when it came to quality and technical sophistication. Already in 1990, one year after launch, it outsold its German competitors in the USA. And when Automobile Magazine listed the ”24 most important cars of the 20th century”, the LS 400 was among them.
Back to Bjorn Ulvaeus. Where on his musical timeline was he when driving around in his Lexus? Most probably was it the musical ”Mamma Mia!” he thought about to the quiet humming of the 4-litre, 264 horsepower V8. It had its premiere in London in April 1999 and the success matched the Lexus LS 400.
It is a discreet car and most people probably won’t understrand that it was among the most advanced on the market in the Nineties. The subtle design is accentuated by the conservative grey metallic and black leather interior - ABBA-Bjorn wasn’t the type of man that wanted to be noticed. Bjorn Ulvaeus kept his Lexus LS 400 in just over two years, selling it in December 1999. Today it has a bit over 250 000 kilometers on the clock. Bjorn is one of Sweden´s greatest music creators. The possibility to be able to listen to ”ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits” in the car he once owned is definitely irresistible for many ABBA fans.
The auctions close on 18 August - and the winner takes it all.
11 AUG 13:26 MATHIAS BJÖRKMAN
Bjorn Ulvaeus´ Lexus LS 400 on August Auction 2022
In August 1997 Bjorn Kristian Ulvaeus, one of the ”B:s” in ABBA, took delivery of his new Japanese luxury car and drove home to Djursholm, the poshest neighborhood in Stockholm. Or was it an American luxury car?
