Autoblog

It's always fun to see the engineering behind hard top convertibles. The latest member of the breed comes from Lexus in the form of the 2009 IS250C. This new derivative of the IS250 sedan sports a three-piece aluminum roof that retracts in a "world's fastest" 20 seconds. Video proof of the event taking place has been released and we've embedded it after the break. The new 250C's most logical competitor comes from BMW, whose 3 Series convertible features a folding hard top of its very own. When the new Lexus goes on sale next summer in Europe, followed shortly thereafter in the United States, it will offer buyers a replacement for the expensive SC 430, which is set to make a graceful exit from the marketplace in short order.


[Source: Paultan]

The image above is only a rendering we found on the interweb

We've been hearing about a possible Lexus IS coupe for what seems like eons, and by most accounts, it's likely to hit the streets sometime around the turn of the decade. A convertible is supposedly in the works too, but until now, there's been limited proof that Lexus was planning to offer the two-door version of its entry-level sedan. However, the crew at my.is has been scouring U.S. and Canadian trademark applications and has come up with three new filings from Toyota's luxury division that could mean Lexus is at least considering bringing the IS coupe to market.

The trademarks include alphanumeric names with a "C" affixed to the end, including the IS250C, IS300C and IS350C. "C" could mean a couple of things, but the smart money is on "Coupe." It's also telling that Lexus' lawyers have trademarked the IS300C designation, since there's nothing to slot in between the current entry-level IS250 and the markedly more powerful IS350. There's no filing for an IS-FC, but if Lexus finally decides to provide the coupe people crave and do serious battle with the BMW M3, it's just a matter of time before we see some derivation of that name pop up in the trademark office.

[Source: my.is, Photo: Unknown Source]