![Bugatti Bird-gate Followup: Driver identity revealed <b>[*UPDATE:</b> Now with actual crash video!]](http://www.blogcdn.com/www.autoblog.com/media/2009/11/bugatti-veyron-swim-1258147199_143x85.jpg)
Lexus IS-F design to influence F-lineup, even though it ain't pretty
Lexus has received its fair share of flack for the styling of the new IS-F sports sedan. The gaping gills and misshapen snout – the most radical exterior elements – have done little to distinguish itself from its lesser brethren, and the interior is largely unchanged, save a few badges and trim pieces.
Lexus execs have recognized that more has to be done to separate the performance brand from the run-of-the-mill models, but even so, they maintain that the IS-F will serve as the design template from which other F-badged offerings will be based.
Toyota Motor Corp.'s design chief, Wahei Hirai, admitted that Lexus' aim of competing with the AMGs and Ms of the world would take a different tact than its Germanic rivals. Hirai is quoted by Wards as saying that "They appreciate consistency, or continuity, very much. We like to make (our vehicles) a different way." Difference for difference sake is rarely a good thing, and the IS-F may have already proven that fact.
[Source: Wards]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Richard 7:46PM (11/05/2007)
This thing gas to have the weight distribution of a 1975 Firebird, right?
Reply
PiCASSO 7:54PM (11/05/2007)
Personally, I would of liked to have an IS350 body panels/bumpers with only improved suspension, different transmission/engine, different seats, and some larger rims as the IS-F model.
This "different" IS-F is nasty, where as the lesser IS250 and IS350 models are beautiful to look at.
Reply
Maestro1 8:08PM (11/05/2007)
+1
Ilya 2:14AM (11/06/2007)
+2
Check out this IS350 tuned by Tom's - http://www.nihoncar.com/en/news-464-TOM%27S+and+the+Lexus+IS350.html
I'd definitely take it over the IS-F.
2004m3driver 8:11PM (11/05/2007)
I guess they reeaaallllyyy want people to buy aftermarket kits for this car.
Reply
AMcA 8:16PM (11/05/2007)
That aft-of-the-front-wheel body kit thing is AWFUL.
I wonder if there might be money in the aftermarket for a correction for that hideous bit of fiberglass.
Reply
Cornholio 8:25PM (11/05/2007)
Saw one of these things at the auto show last week. It doesn't look any better in person. The "rice-rocket" crowd was impressed with it, though.
Besides, there's no manual transmission option. It's pretty hard to take it seriously unless there's a choice for a third pedal.
Reply
paul34 10:29PM (11/05/2007)
What? It fits in perfectly with what Lexus is going for - the geriatric, bingo-playing retirement crowd.
Man is gramps going to get major points with the Integra down the street with eBay exhaust, cut springs, and $13 blue headlights from Wal-Mart!
Screw manual transmissions, everyone will take us seriously when we put a plain ol' slushie in a "performance" car!
/sarcasm
John 8:31PM (11/05/2007)
I was skeptical, but seeing them in action at the proving ground at SEMA was pretty thrilling, if not convincing.
Reply
Chase 8:34PM (11/05/2007)
I wouldn't call it "misshapen," but it definitely doesn't have seventy-thousand-dollar styling...
I'm always going to giggle when I see those fake exhausts though.
Reply
geo.stewart 8:45PM (11/05/2007)
yeah....
70K.
ISF or GTR?.....
thinking
thinking
definitely the GTR.
ISF or M3?
second verse
same as the first
mk 9:46PM (11/05/2007)
I definitely think mishapen applies to the hoodline when viewed in profile....
the fender vents are ill-conceived, and the front lower intakes on each side are odd, neither definitively rectangular, nor rounded, just kind of in limbo.
the fake stacked exhaust are just indicative of the whole effort. Ill-conceived aesthetics for no real reason.
Wasn't a lexus fan before, really am not now.
VIctor 8:52PM (11/05/2007)
Catfish
Reply
sdcarnut 9:14PM (11/05/2007)
YIKES
Reply
Dr. Woo 8:05AM (11/06/2007)
My thoughts exactly.
It's ugly as all hell, and if you're seriously trying to compete in this segment, you have to be a little more...uhhh, competitive.
Snark 9:22PM (11/05/2007)
"It's pretty hard to take it seriously unless there's a choice for a third pedal."
Modern automatic transmissions, such as the Lexus modified TC automatic and the dual-clutch boxes, are superior performance gearboxes. Fact. There's a very, very good reason why no F1, WRC, DTM, WTCC, ALMS, Le Mans, or really any race car you care to name is equipped with a manual transmission any longer. Manuals are becoming the domain of car geeks who jabber about "the connection to the car" as if it means anything, and that's about it.
Reply
paul34 10:31PM (11/05/2007)
I think its hilarious how people still talk about manual transmission enthusiasts as if we only love a third pedal due to some sort of imagined "superior performance."
If only the world was that black and white - but, as we grow up, we all often learn differently ;-)
joe 11:59PM (11/05/2007)
NASCAR and V8 Supercars are two professional motorsports that still use fully manual gearboxes.
Of course, many club races and grassroots sports car races (NASA, SCCA, etc.) still see alot of left foot action.
;)
Cornholio 12:24AM (11/06/2007)
I don't give a crap about "superior performance" as it relates to a stopwatch. I care about the level of ENGAGEMENT the car provides for the driver. If I have to sacrifice a few 10ths of a second to 60 in order to feel more connected to the car, so be it. That's more than a fair trade. Most of us don't time our 0-60 runs on the way to work each day anyway.
Every automatic car I've driven, including many "sport" transmissions, make the driver feel more disconnected from the car. They often zap power and provide a level of insulation from the mechanical workings of the vehicle. In other words, they make the car more BORING.
Sometimes I think those who quip about how modern automatics are "better" than manual transmissions have never driven a GOOD manual transmission car. Go drive a manual trans Miata, S2000, BMW 3 Series, Mustang, or other sports car of your choice. Then drive the automatic version. If you still don't get why the manual version is more pure, more engaging, and more fun, then I can't help you.
Of course, if you have to drive an automatic for medical or spousal reasons, I completely understand. I'm just thankful my female companion likes driving a manual transmission too. I've never owned an automatic car in the 20+ years I've been driving, and I'll continue to hold out as long as the auto manufacturers give me the choice.
In other words, No IS-F for me, at any price. I'll stick with BMW.
ckm 2:29AM (11/06/2007)
Sorry, but I recently drove an Audi TT with a DSG transmission around Sears Point (Infineon Raceway) and, in auto mode, it was HORRID. The hesitation meant that instead of concentrating on the race line, you had to anticipate the transmission.
I tried using it in manual mode, but, in order to figure out what gear you are in, you have to LOOK at the dash, AAAAAHHHHHH. Yeah, that's really what I want to do in a left hand hairpin at 100+mph.... Granted, it was the first time I had used one of these flappy paddle things, but it was generally a revolting experience. Give me a manual any day.
And the person above is right. I know a ton of people who do SCCA and NASA, there is not an automatic in sight. The only place they really belong is on the drag strip (full throttle upshifts....) and not in an enthusiast car.