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The newest Toyota hybrid goes on sale this summer, the sixth gasoline-electric vehicle from Japan’s largest automaker.

But it would be a real stretch to call this one – from the company’s Lexus luxury division – a “green” car like Toyota’s groundbreaking Prius model, which gets somewhere above 40 miles per gallon..

That’s because the 2008 Lexus LS 600h offers EPA fuel-economy ratings of just 20 mpg city/22 highway – impressive for a car with so much power, but hardly mileage that could be considered environmentally friendly.

The point, though, is that this hybrid isn’t about helping save the planet. Instead, it’s a showcase of Toyota technology, a vehicle so well-engineered that the automaker says it’s the most-advanced car it has ever built.

It’s also the most-expensive Toyota ever. With a starting price of $104,000 (plus $715 freight) – and an expected average transaction price of somewhere around $110,000 – it’s the first Toyota product to break into six figures.

That was such a problem for the automaker that it had to completely rework its computer system to deal with a vehicle price of six figures, Lexus Executive Vice President and General Manager Jim FarleyÖ said — a major unforeseen expense in development of the LS 600h.

At the heart of the LS 600h is a hybrid powertrain that combines a 5.0-liter V-8 engine with an electric motor, giving the car the power of a V-12 supercar, but the fuel economy of a midsize, six-cylinder luxury sedan.

The gasoline engine, which is a bored-out version of the 4.6-liter V-8 used in the gas-only LS 460, produces 389 horsepower on its own. With the electric motor, combined output is 438 horsepower, Lexus says.

This is the first use of a V-8 engine in a hybrid system in a passenger car. It’s the second luxury sedan with a hybrid system; the other is the Lexus GS 450h, introduced two years ago with a V-6 engine and an electric motor. That car has combined horsepower of 340, but that’s enough to scoot it along from zero to 60 mph in just 5.2 seconds.

While the LS 600h has more power than the GS 450h, it’s also heavier – it weighs just over 5,000 pounds — so its performance isn’t quite as sporty as that of the GS. It can go from zero to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds.

Top speed is electronically limited to 130 mph, so this is not a car designed to win races at the track.

As a showcase of technology, the LS 600h is expected to appeal to consumers who have money to burn, but who also like the coolest, neatest, newest stuff on the market. These are the so-called early adopters who were among the first to buy the wall-covering big-screen LCD televisions, the $100,000-plus home stereo systems and even the first iPods.

The LS 600h will give its owners a lot to talk about at the country club, which is where they’ll be a lot of the time. Because of that, Farley said that the car’s Japanese designers made sure that the trunk was large enough to hold both the nickel-metal-hydride battery pack for the electric motor – and four golf bags.

The car’s interior is roomy enough to take the owner and three golfing buddies on an outing, with limousine-like legroom in the back seat. Although three people can sit back there, it’s much more comfortable with just two, and there is a pull-down center armrest that takes up the space where the third person would sit.

Why build such a car?

The short answer is: Because Toyota could.

The company that first made its mark in the United States by selling no-nonsense, high-quality, economy cars now wants Americans – and the world – to know that it can build very-high-end vehicles with the best of the blueblood European manufacturers as well.

“This is the ultimate Lexus for the highest level of performance,” Farley said. “It stands out as an icon for our brand.”

Among the key features of the LS 600h’s hybrid drivetrain are standard all-wheel drive and a continuously variable automatic transmission that has no discernible shift points.

And despite its lack of truly impressive fuel economy, the LS 600h does continue the Toyota hybrid tradition of producing fewer harmful emissions than similarly powered, ordinary gasoline-engine-only vehicles.

The car has a “Super-ULEV” rating (ULEV stands for “ultra-low emissions vehicle”) and its tailpipe emissions are “70 percent cleaner than any competitor’s,” Farley said.

“It’s simply the most-advanced vehicle we know how to make,” he said. “It’s even more distinctive than we planned.”

The body of the LS 600h is the same as that of the 2007 LS 460 L, a stretched version of the full-size LS 460 sedan.

The LS was completely redesigned for the current model year, and the long version was added to the mix. It’s designed for people who usually ride in the back seat while someone else does the driving.

The LS 600h is the LS 460 L with the optional air suspension and its unique hybrid drivetrain, said Bob AllanÖ, dealer-education manager for Lexus. It’s a half-inch taller than the regular LS 460 because of the air suspension.

The goals for creation of the LS 600h, he said, were great performance, driving pleasure while maintaining vehicle stability, a “new dimension of quietness,” and a clean, fuel-efficient drivetrain.

Standard amenities include leather interior (including a unique leather dashboard), LED headlights, a smart-access card key that can be kept in the operator’s wallet, and a chrome-wood shift knob.

Among high-tech options is a “pre-collision system” that warns the driver by a dashboard light and then by a beeping sound if a collision is imminent, then automatically begins braking to lessen impact.

Also offered are radar cruise control, which automatically paces the car to the speed of the vehicle it is following; and adaptive headlights that turn slightly in the direction the vehicle is turning.

Perhaps the most unusual option is a system that uses a camera to monitor’s the driver’s face to determine whether he is nodding off or otherwise not paying attention to his driving.

This system will warn the driver with a beeping sound if it detects both inattention and that the vehicle is drifting out of control. The warning will not sound if the driver turns his head but the vehicle remains safety on track, Allan said.

The LS 600h also is available with the self-park system offered on other LS models. This system will parallel-park the car on its own with no driver input.

While the car normally will drive with both the gasoline engine and electric motor in use, it can operate on the electric motor alone at low speeds for a short distance.

To force this mode, there is a button on the dash labeled “EV.” The length of time the car can operate in EV mode depends on the state of charge in the battery pack, but it ranges from 30 seconds to about three minutes, Allan said.

Even if the driver has engaged the EV mode, the engine will start automatically to begin recharging the battery pack if the charge level falls below a predetermined threshold.

The car makes virtually no noise while operating in EV mode, which is why some Toyota engineers have jokingly called it the “sneak into the garage late at night mode,” Allan said.

One significant way the LS 600h differs from ordinary cars is that it has no 12-volt battery and no starter motor or alternator mounted on the engine. Instead, there are dual electric motors inside the transmission – one to help move the car, and the other to work as a motor to start the gasoline engine, or as an alternator to recharge the 288-volt battery pack in the trunk.

With all available options, the LS 600h’s price can rise to more than $121,000, Allan said.

Buyers, he said, will be “prestige luxury customers – the super affluent.” About 80 percent will be men, and the median age is expected to be 57.

Lexus will market the car through publications and events that reach these customers, including golf tournaments, wine auctions and collector-car shows such as the annual Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.