Lexus mixes power with luxury
LF-A supercar and sports saloon in Geneva
Geneva to see Lexus LF-A
The Toyota-owned brand has always been at pains to present itself as a top-end marque and has eschewed any hint that its cars are about driver involvement. Now the company wants to add a performance halo to the brand.
Lexus will be presenting three cars to help it along the new path, two of them sporting the new F badge that will become the company's performance marker.
According to Lexus, the F designation "identifies vehicles specifically designed and engineered for ultra-high performance and exceptional sports driving dynamics. F-badged models further emphasise Lexus’s pursuit of perfection and its aim to continuously push the limits of automobile engineering."
IS-F sports saloon
Launched in Detroit and showing in Europe for the first time, the IS-F is powered by a 5.0-litre V8 that delivers more than 400bhp and 369lb-ft of torque. Acceleration from rest to 62mph takes 4.9 seconds and top speed is a governed 168mph.
Lexus reckoned its CO2 emissions of 290g/km make it one of the cleanest sports saloons in its class.
The transmission is based on Lexus’ eight-speed automatic, which made its debut last year in the new LS 460. It boasts a new sports shift control that lets the driver choose a manual mode, using paddle shifts on the steering wheel, or fully automatic gear selection with shifts happening in a pretty nifty 100 milliseconds.
It's the first Lexus to feature switchable dynamics, which lets the driver select Normal, Sport or Off settings according to preference.
LF-A supercar
This is Lexus' bid for the supercar market, and is due for production later this year. Lexus called it "a new and practical approach to design engineering for a more compact and energy-efficient supercar concept."
Only 4,400mm long, it's the most powerful Lexus to date. The forward-mid-mounted 5.0-litre V10 engine generates more than 500bhp, giving the LF-A a top speed approaching 200mph. Its rear-mounted transaxle and radiators help provide optimum front/rear weight distribution and handling.
It provides a suitable vessel into which Toyota can pour its hard- and expensively-won F1 expertise. There's likely to be a V8 version – the GT450 costing some £75,000 while the GT500 is likely to lighten your wallet by a whisker under £100,000 -- simply because F1 now uses V8s, as parent company Toyota looks to reap marketing benefits from its huge F1 investment.
However, we're not entirely sure the car's GT500 moniker for production, which was first mooted by Autocar last March, will stick. There's a Ford Mustang also called the GT500, and Lexus still calls it the LF-A. But the company is promising more news at Geneva, so that seems the logical time to unveil a new badge.
LS 600h hybrid supercar
The new LS 600h combines a 5.0-litre V8 with continuously-variable transmission coupled to an electric motor and battery package. Lexus would only say that the combination "delivers performance typical of a normally-aspirated V12".
The engine uses two fuel injectors per cylinder and VVTi-E valve timing on the intake to boost performance and reduce emissions, noise and vibration.
Combined fuel consumption is 29.7mpg and carbon dioxide emissions are 220g/km, figures which Lexus claimed compare well with the levels achieved by the cleanest diesels in the segment.
The dual-stage, CVT gives the LS 600h smooth, linear power delivery and seamless acceleration. It is matched to the all-wheel drivetrain with a central mechanical Torsen limited slip diff for improved stability at high cornering speeds.
There'll also be a long wheelbase model, the LS 600h L, for back seat lounge lizards. It'll offer entertainment and relaxation features for rear seat passengers, including a reclining seat with leg and footrest. No news about a bed...
www.pistonheads.co.uk/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=71&t=356273&p=1
I'd like to see a Lexus MR2, perhaps more in the mould of the Mk 2 model. MR2 handling, a reasonable manageable engine and Lexus brand image and interior appointments = serious competition for the Boxster/Cayman and a budget F430 for mere mortals.
I'm on my 2nd Lexus and know how good they are with superb reliability and quality and clever attention to detail. Plus, they are not so common as the well known German brands if that is important to you. Great to see that Toyota are thinking big as they certainly have the skills to pull this is off.
Anymore pics of this beauty about?
www.speedheads.de/news/35958/lexus_is_f__die_hochleistungsversion_kommt_2008.html
Here you go. Unfortunately I think the front and sides could do with some attention!
I'm on my 2nd Lexus and know how good they are with superb reliability and quality and clever attention to detail. Plus, they are not so common as the well known German brands if that is important to you. Great to see that Toyota are thinking big as they certainly have the skills to pull this is off.
There is a Lexus that has definitely caught my attention (I might like to own one in the future if it becomes any cheaper) - the SC300, or one better - the Toyota Soarer Twin Turbo.
It avoids any 'wannabe Mercedes' accusations in its elegant, grille-less styling, it'll be bulletproof reliability-wise, but best of all, the twin-turbo is a bit of a neck-snapper.
I'm on my 2nd Lexus and know how good they are with superb reliability and quality and clever attention to detail. Plus, they are not so common as the well known German brands if that is important to you. Great to see that Toyota are thinking big as they certainly have the skills to pull this is off.
I drive a Lexus IS300, and can vouch for the build quality, reliability and (perhaps most importantly) the levels of customer service they provide.
Can't afford to chop the TVR for ones of these supercars though, nor would it have the same character (of which it is currently displaying rather too much - see posts on Griff forum!).
The overhangs are too long. There are all kinds of inconsistencies in the design elements and the lines barely flow together. The overlaps and scoops don't quite work and instead of making it look beautiful, they merely leave it at "interesting". There's something interesting going on in the door panels, judging by the light reflection, but it's all very symmetrical and Japanese and ultimately doesn't really make the car memorable. The sill seems to end in a razor-sharp crease and seems to have a protrusion below the car's bottom profile? What about the door line...there's something strange about how all the smooth curves collect into the sharpish corner at the bottom left. The rear roofline is nice enough, but is too balanced by the front to give the car's appearance any aggression or muscle. And the roof peaks at the wrong point and is way too high. The side-mirrors, too, had so much potential. But they lack the flair of the Testarossa's flying bridge mirror, or the high-techiness of the more recent offerings. Instead, they seem to have been placed at the minimum height necessary to be able to see over the intake at the back. Uninspiring.
It all seems to be merely adequate, rather than fantastic.
I wonder if the driving sensation will also be capable, like the Lexus, rather than fantastic, like the BMW CSL.
The overhangs are too long. There are all kinds of inconsistencies in the design elements and the lines barely flow together. The overlaps and scoops don't quite work and instead of making it look beautiful, they merely leave it at "interesting". There's something interesting going on in the door panels, judging by the light reflection, but it's all very symmetrical and Japanese and ultimately doesn't really make the car memorable. The sill seems to end in a razor-sharp crease and seems to have a protrusion below the car's bottom profile? What about the door line...there's something strange about how all the smooth curves collect into the sharpish corner at the bottom left. The rear roofline is nice enough, but is too balanced by the front to give the car's appearance any aggression or muscle. And the roof peaks at the wrong point and is way too high. The side-mirrors, too, had so much potential. But they lack the flair of the Testarossa's flying bridge mirror, or the high-techiness of the more recent offerings. Instead, they seem to have been placed at the minimum height necessary to be able to see over the intake at the back. Uninspiring.
It all seems to be merely adequate, rather than fantastic.
I wonder if the driving sensation will also be capable, like the Lexus, rather than fantastic, like the BMW CSL.
I can't help but think you must be looking at another car - the front overhang is longer than 3Series' snub nose, but that's about it - the rear over hang is shorter, than the 3series' and most others', too. You claim that it's "symmetrical" in spite of the fact that more so than any 3 box saloon, or indeed classic MR sportscar, it's about as far from symemtrical as you can get. You then claim that the mirrors "lack flair" in spite of the fact that they have enough flair to win comment in spite of being the least significant part of any car, and claim that None of the line or elements "flow together", whilst also deriding the way that "all the smooth curves collect into the sharpish corner at the bottom left". But before any of the above you claim that the styling is "cheap and cheesy" which begs the question: "If it was so cheap and cheesy, how did you find so much so far from the norm as to comment upon?"
I don't mean to tear your post apart or anything, but I wish people would just say "I don't like it" rather than typing out self-contradictory gobbledegook.
And as regards the comment where you compare the M3 CSL to "the Lexus" - which Lexus were you comparing it to? Because I can't think of a single stripped out Lexus homologation special to fit into the CSL's class - or even a Lexus which has ever fallen into the the class of ANY 2-dr M3 or 3 series, for that matter.
ETA:
Anymore pics of this beauty about?
www.speedheads.de/news/35958/lexus_is_f__die_hochleistungsversion_kommt_2008.html
Here you go. Unfortunately I think the front and sides could do with some attention!
Cheers mate!
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