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While showing off at a demonstration at this year's Tokyo Auto Salon, this IS F race car made it clear why you treat a car like this with some respect. The driver hardly touched the gas pedal and he blasted right into a row of stubby concrete bollards. More »
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When an American police department gets some Homeland Security money they usually buy a tank, a bunch of rocket launchers or a jet ski. Not in the UK. Cops there buy $88,000 Lexus IS-Fs. More »
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It's not a stretch to believe, but Lexus insiders have confirmed to Car und Driver the development of a Lexus IS-F convertible to follow on the heels of the recently launched 2010 Lexus IS-C. More »
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When the next-gen Lotus Esprit arrives in 2012, it'll receive some pretty epic power options according to EVO, including the yet-to-be-released 500 HP, high-revving V10 out of the vaporware upcoming Lexus LF-A. More »
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The tuners at Fox Marketing, fresh on the heels of their twin-turbo IS-F, have returned to the RWD Lexus sedan for a convertible coupe version. Better still? The "Ecto Cooler" green color. More »
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Don't think you can convince the owner of the Gilda Ghia to sell his jet car to you? A twin-turbo IS-F tuned by Fox Marketing and Artisan Performance almost sounds the part. More »
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If you had a chance to see last night's episode of Top Gear you'd have seen the four-door BMW M3 take to the track against the Lexus IS-F. You'd also see Stig take the IS-F for a power lap, again while listening to the sounds of Morse code. The inability to understand what Stiggie was saying / hearing due to all those dots and dashes was buggin' us, so we enlisted the help of one of America's preeminent practitioners of the code of dits and dahs — who also happens to be an avid Jalopnik reader (although he likes bikes more than cars for some reason. Jeesh, hasn't he heard the old maxim about "two wheels bad, four wheels good?" Whatever, we won't hold it against him). He's helpfully translated the two short bursts of circles and lines. Hit the jump for the full video as well as the translation. More »
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Lexus is bringing a fleet of vehicles to the SEMA show next week, including an IS 350 as close to an F as possible without being a Lexus IS F. Just in case you prefer the IS F, the company handed four of them over to various tuners and magazines, including one to our friends at 0-60 mag, to do up for the Vegas extravaganza. In addition to the quintet of IS models, they're also bringing an ICON-tuned Lexus LX 570 SUV for that plastic surgeon with Botox money burning a hole in his or her pocket. More details in the really enthusiastic press blurbs from Lexus below the jump. More »
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With the demise of the Viper looming, Hennessey Performance is setting itself up to continue providing tuning services well into the future. Surprisingly, Hennessey will be working on the 2009 Corvette ZR1, a car that the company acknowledged as the Viper's enemy. They're also working on offering a kit for the Lexus IS-F, set to include headers and a modified exhaust system to squeeze more oopmh from the eight-geared oddity. And what about that big chunk of land they're sitting on? More »
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The surface for driving that is always circuitous has some tantalizing racing news for fans of Japans Super GT racing series. It seems the Lexus IS-F Racing concept that showed up at the recent Tokyo Auto Salon was a harbinger of things to come. Lexus is reportedly working on a mid-engined race car based on the IS chassis and engine. The car would be set to run in the fiercely competitive GT300 class for this years Super GT Championships. Lexus better be careful with that kind of craziness or eyebrows will be raising all over the production car world. [WindingRoad.com] More »
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Hoping to put the Man back in the American LeMans series, Lexus released pictures of their new Panoz-fighting Lexus 350 GT2. Powered by a V6 that should generate more than 470 horsepower, the new Lexus hopes to compete with the likes of the M3, Viper Competition Coupe, Ferrari F430 GT and eventually the upcoming Aston Martin Vantage GT2. More »
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I have a fair number of friends who work in design-related fields- architecture, industrial design, graphic design, that sort of thing. Each seems to feel real physical pain when some controllable element of their surroundings does not glow with an aura of quality design. Furniture, clothing, appliances, and so on- you're not going to see El Cheapo crap unless it's an ironic statement of some kind. Such a person will always have a Macintosh computer, and the car in the driveway will likely be German. I'm not saying this is a bad thing, of course, since pro designers are naturally drawn to attractively designed objects, but it's an easily observed phenomenon. While shooting some Engine Pr0n of the Audi RS4, and then later for the Lexus IS-F, I was struck by the differing design philosophies on display in the cars' respective engine compartments. Let's take a look (make the jump for more gallery goodness): More »
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Why You Should Buy This Car: More »
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Exterior Design: *** More »
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The night following our first day with the Lexus IS-F, after our own Wes Siler managed to procure two trashcans full of beer, a bunch of us auto-journo types sat around telling war stories involving crochet mallets (don't ask). After we'd laughed most of the oxygen out of the room, I asked the question, "So, what do you guys think of the IS-F?" For a moment the room went quiet. People began blinking then looked to the person next to them. The towering Brian Scotto, editor-in-chief of 0-60, was first to speak, "Great brakes," he said. And within moments, all present were agreeing that, yeah man, the IS-F has absolutely killer brakes. And not much else. More »
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I mentioned in today's Part 1 of the IS-F review that if you remove the engine cover you're, "Looking at Darth Vader's chest plate, an expansive jumble of wires, black boxes and even more wires." Well, I wasn't kidding. More after the jump. More »
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Remember back 20 years when Mercedes and BMW scoffed at the idea of a Japanese luxury competitor? They weren't alone; basically everyone did. Well, we guarantee those companies are doing anything but scoffing now. This time around, with Lexus going after the Germans' most profitable niche - hottie factory tuners - those old hands and relative newcomer Audi are doing everything but scoffing. We bet they're wishing they've been doing what we've been up to for the past week. That is, driving the holy hell out of a Lexus IS-F prototype to gauge the threat. Well friends, we know the answer, while M, AMG and Audi's RS are (for now) left guessing. But first, let's look at what makes an IS-F more than a just an average IS, starting with what's under the hood. More »
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If it's October, it must be time to see what automotive finery will grace the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book. This year ladies who lunch in West Palm, Dallas and Orange County had better hang on to their cocktail bags — it's the IS F Special Build Sedan. Neiman's $68,000 Lexus "fast" comes with an interior design of black with white accent stitching, a unique steering wheel with white leather accents, front headrests embossed with the F logo, hand-polished finish for the wheels and a sequentially numbered Special Build badge. But wait! There's more! You, or the real-estate developer hubby, also get a personalized half-day of pro-driver training compliments of the Skip Barber Racing School, so winding out the 400-hp, 5.0-liter V8 won't be a matter of downing six dirty martinis before turning donuts in the Breakers parking lot. The special IS F will hit the Neiman phone bank at noon (EDT) on October 18. Start dialing early, because these things are harder to get than a seaweed wrap at the Ritz-Carlton without an appointment. More »
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We really haven't seen too much of the Lexus IS-F since the meanish blue beastie rolled onto the fog-filled set at the Detroit Auto Show. This past weekend we not only saw a sweet pearl white IS-F, but we witnessed that same IS-F setting the pace for the vintage Can-Am and IMSA racecars on top of shredding some tires between rounds. A couple of IS350 sedans were also on track during the event, which was presented by Toyota. The IS-F, powered by a 5.0-liter directed-injected V8 producing more than 400 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque, carved well ahead of its tires barking Lexus brethren, and sang a sweet V8 song through the quad-tipped exhaust. It really did sound that good. It's a fine appearance of a car we'll likely see in dealerships by early 2008. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=291374&view=rss&microfeed=true Is an IS coupe in Lexus' future? [Dieselstation via Autoblog] More »
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If brakes were shoes, Italy's Brembo would be Bruno Magli. (Well, considering there's already a shoe element to brakes, substitute "handbag" for "shoes" and Prada for Bruno Magli. Now go.) Sure, they're quality stoppers, but they're also the best-branded specimens on the market. And Lexus knows it. So it's no surprise Brembo's gotten the contract to provide brakes for the upcoming Lexus IS-F, according to Automotive News. The contract means the production model of the IS-F will get the same clinchers as the IS-F Concept unveiled at the Detroit show this year. It's as obvious a choice for the Lexus F sports line as would be Riddell helmets for the NFL or Matfer baking sheets for the CIA (no, the other CIA). That's because Brembos are already found in the Subaru WRX STi, Mitsubishi Evo, Dodge SRT-8, Audi A8 and Cadillac STS-V. And since the deal's with Toyota, they'll probably end up in ToMoCo's high-end supercar, destined for early next century. – Mike Spinelli More »
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Our boy Bumbeck stuffed his meaty elbows into journo mugs all morning to nab some shots of the Lexus IS-F, as the company sent it into the entry-supercar ether. Set to arrive in early 2008, the 400+ hp, 5.0-liter V8-powered miniLex will get those Brembos (cross drilled) after all, along with 19" alloys and engine-oil and transmission-fluid coolers and a cylinder head-scavenging oil pump for high g-force driving. No word on price, but we hear ~$50,000 and a pair of Red Sox tickets. More »
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It's still a couple hours before Lexus's press event to launch the mondo IS-F, and Automobile's gone and posted the shots and info (guess it helps to have a friend signing the checks). But the vitals on the BMW M3 / Audi RS4 challenger are decent — the 5.0-liter V8 will produce more than 400 hp (still no exact number yet) and 350 lb-ft or torque. But the major bit is the eight-speed tranny lifted from the LS460, with paddle shifters. Official zero-to-60 time is listed as under 4.9 seconds, and brakes are 14.2-inch six pots in the front and 13.6 two pots in the rear (though no word on the rumored Brembo-sourced action.) More to come. More »
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Too bad we don't have CSI's supercomputer that de-pixelates low-res imagery into super high-res, which the agency relies on to facilitate awkward plot twists. Then we'd get a more accurate picture of the upcoming Lexus IS-F M3 fighter, due for unveiling next week in Detroit. Motor Authority clipped the shots not from some obscure BBS emanating from the Montenegro countryside, but from one of Lexus's own online ads. According to MA, the ad confirms the IS-F's ~400 hp, 5.0-liter V8 and a zero-to-62 mph time of under five seconds. The question is, will this blurry shot be all we see of the IS-F(ast) on the road? – Mike Spinelli More »
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The boys n' girls at ToMoCo's super number one best luxe badge have dropped a sneak preview of the IS-F, the nameplate's V8 version of the IS sedan they're hoping will have the power to go head-to-head with the next-generation V8-powered BMW M3. Lexus was planning on a January-to-remember in Detroit, but it now appears they're letting little drips and dribbles through the embargo walls as they see fit. Today's drip from the ToMoCo HQ in Toyota City, Japan — the emission-spewing exhaust pipe. Color us underwhelmed. – Ray Wert More »
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