Lexus unveils IS 250 Sports Concept in Sydney
At the ongoing Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, the same show where Australian sportscar-maker Elfin took the wraps off its new Type 5 Clubman, Lexus unveiled a new version of its IS 250 sports sedan called the Sports Concept.
So what, you ask is the Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept? Think of it as IS F-light, but not quite as light on substance as appearance packages from its German rivals (think Audi S-line or Mercedes AMG sport packages). The show car has been outfitted with 19" wheels hiding cross-drilled two-piece rotors clamped by six-pot calipers up front and four-pots in the rear, painted trademark Lexus F blue. It also sports Billstein shocks and springs; sway bars and chassis braces; an enlarged air intake and cat-back exhaust; a new clutch and short-shift kit; a carbon fiber engine cover and an assortment of spoilers and skirts.
In short, what we're looking at is an IS F, only without the 5-liter V8. The revised breathing systems squeeze out a modest 1.5 percent increase in output from the 2.5-liter V6 for a total of about 213hp. The add-ons are currently being considered for the Australian market, but we're sure there are plenty of fans of the IS F on this side of the globe who don't need to hit 60 in the fours and wouldn't mind a more affordable alternative given the current economic climate.
Gallery: Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept
[Source: Lexus]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Kumail 1:02PM (10/12/2008)
honestly, i like it
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notYou 1:04PM (10/12/2008)
Hmmm, looks like it would have a functional visible exhaust, which is an improvement over the quad-exhaust fake-a-roo that the IS-F has.
fyi: I walk past one in my work garage everday, and I almost laugh when I look through those 4 chromed exhaust "ports" to see asphalt beyond the plastic. Mmmmmm, rice.
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jv2k 3:21PM (10/12/2008)
It really doesn't make much sense either. If GM managed to put a second real exhaust onto the j-bodies for god knows what reason, why can't Toyota do the same?
tankd0g 5:41PM (10/12/2008)
Exhausts in the bumper are impossible unless your bumper is made of stainless steel. So either you like the look or your get rid of it and put a real tail pipe below the bumper.
Mobius_1 1:24PM (10/12/2008)
Nice, but a little rice. let's hope it can hold its own against comparable BMWs and MBs in a race, although Lexus can always lean on its quality and comfort to be its saving grace...
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Rob 1:32PM (10/12/2008)
Do the rear wheels look too small in that first picture to anyone else? That's a hell of a lip.
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Tim 1:50PM (10/12/2008)
Thought the same thing those wheels don't look like 19's more like 16's. Overall sharp car but have to give the edge to infiniti and even cadillac in boldness. This cars styling is more feminine.
Infra 2:08PM (10/13/2008)
Compare this to a normal IS250 and you'll see why. The car without the coilovers (or springs & shocks, not sure what this has on it) has an overall forward-slanted appearance (less height clearance in the front than in the back). Since they balanced out the height clearance, it took more off the rear wheel gap than the front.
Preus 1:39PM (10/12/2008)
Lexus' design is boring. That front really is boring as hell.
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Tim 1:50PM (10/12/2008)
Boring as hell. Hella boring. Hell and the word boring just don't work together. Its like saying "sorta righteous" or "kinda glorious"... Can't combine an extreme metaphor with a so-so adjective.
Chase 1:59PM (10/12/2008)
Hey grammar vigilante, "boring" is an extremity, with its opposite being "exciting." Also, "as hell" is a simile, not a metaphor.
Dan 1:44PM (10/12/2008)
the rims are terrible
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Swede 1:58PM (10/12/2008)
Worst part is the rear door.
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Cardude 2:58PM (10/12/2008)
Nice. I like rice. I like cars with feminine styling. It's SEXY!
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Tim 3:34PM (10/12/2008)
My understanding is that extremities only include words that can substituted for the word "very" and another adjective. Example "very big" could be replaced with "huge". One can be "very bored" or "very excited", but saying "very huge" would be redundant. One can be "very important' but one would not necessarily say "very essential". By your definition bad, good, small, large can be all extremities. But you are right "As hell" is a simile
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b -roge 4:06PM (10/12/2008)
I drove this car at a Lexus Driving School this summer. My fastest time of the day at the autocross portion was in this car with a 6mtx. It drove way better than the stock IS250 and handled better than the ISF, mainly because it didn't have that heavy engine hanging over its front axle. It's still not worth $36,000 for 190ish hp, though.
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timeToy 4:35PM (10/12/2008)
All theses parts are available right now in the US for the IS250 or IS350 owners, they are all part of the F-Sport line: http://www.f-sport.com/?s_ocid=IS_Acc_FSport_Overview_MicroSite
Also this whole business about the so called "fake" IS-F exhaust tips is getting really old; A growing number of cars have theses exhaust finishers, the reason being, the exhaust need some slack, it needs to move under acceleration and gear changes, this is the reason why there is a gap between the exhaust and the tips. But it is far from being fake.
Also, let look at the other cars that sport "fake" tips, Bugatti Veyron, Ferrari California, all the Bentley, all the Rolls Royce, the LS460, Audi R8 and I'm sure I forget a few...
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Jason 4:46PM (10/12/2008)
This article is all wrong. What is presented above is a car that has been available for 1.5 years now, through Lexus's parts catalog. ***ALL THESE PARTS ARE ACCESSORIES*** and this car has been touring Taste of Lexus events for over a year now. Nothing new at all and not a concept . Why Lexus is calling it a concept is purely a marketing strategy to advertise their parts. That's it.
And as for as the line, "... this is an IS-F without the engine" is totally inaccurate. The IS-F has a different hood, bumpers, fenders, wheels, exhaust, seats, transmission, and other trim bits not shared with the car above. Shame on Autoblog.
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MoonRover 5:02PM (10/12/2008)
Nothing about this car looks exciting, the styling is boring bordering on ugly. Toyota has dropped to the bottom of the list when it comes to styling, Nissan has them beat hands up and down the line. Not only does Nissan have them beat in styling, they beat them in fit and finish. Toyota IMO and I was wrong once, makes the most undesireable cars of any of the large auto makers.
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Infra 2:08PM (10/13/2008)
A matter of taste. I think Infiniti's all look like they are bloated. No agility or nimbleness to them. Their interior has a lot of curved shapes but no trend lines or cohesion to tie it all together. I think of people who own one would have preferred a BMW but didn't want to spend the money.
All opinions, of course; I'm just making that point.