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Old 24th January 2007, 05:01   #1
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2008 Lexus IS-F

I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed here. I am talking about the launch of the 2008 Lexus IS-F this month at the 2007 Detroit Auto Show. This will be Lexus' answer to the upcoming V8 M3 from BMW. 400hp V8 sounds yummy! But will it stand a chance against M3?

Leftlane has more details and high resolution pictures at 2008 Lexus IS-F revealed | Leftlane - Car News For Enthusiasts

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Old 24th January 2007, 05:08   #2
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Oh my god, it sounds heavenly

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Old 24th January 2007, 06:17   #3
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it does and i was excited about hearing more info but god damn they screwed up that total ricer looking design. I mean the regular IS 350 looked just fine, but this with that VIP looking lowered effect with that horrible front brake cooling duct/scoop(i hope thats what that is), it just looks terrible, I would like this engine in a regular IS350 plz..

But the reason this excites me more is because I cant wait for the response for this in a year or 2 from Infiniti, a G40 or G45, hmmmm now that is going to be one hell of a car...

But i like this car otherwise..awesome awesome sound, pure music...but i really didnt like the ride and handling of the IS350 even though the engine was freakishly responsive, loved that about the car..cant wait to try the IS-F out in the upcoming lexus event.


But seriously doesnt this scoop look like an after thought and such a cost saving idea. I mean if they had to make this car a wide body, they should have changed the fenders rather than give this horrible look to it..oh well not everything can be perfect in a car..

Last edited by 1Day : 24th January 2007 at 06:24.
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Old 24th January 2007, 10:22   #4
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looks rice, im sure the engine can pull like crazy. hope there is an option to turn off the traction control COMPLETELY!!!
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Old 18th February 2007, 22:50   #5
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The rims on this car are hotttttttt.

Have a look at the vertically stacked quad exhausts.

She has a 5.0L V8 with 400bhp and a 8Speed paddle shift transmission!!!!!!!!!

Lexus - Future/Concept Vehicles - IS-F

direct competition to the M3.

pics:







Last edited by Vid6639 : 18th February 2007 at 22:57.
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Old 18th February 2007, 22:55   #6
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he has a 5.0L V8 with 400bhp and a 8Speed paddle shift transmission!!!!!!!!!
8 speed, eh? I think we've the right technology now to send a manned mission to Uranus and back
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Old 18th February 2007, 23:02   #7
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8Speed paddle shift transmission
Lexus bills as the world's first eight-speed direct sport-shift transmission, meaning a pair of paddles within finger range of the steering wheel allow the driver to make touch-quick up-shifts. Gear changes come in a tenth of a second, according to Carter.
A new torque-converter lock-up control was developed that allows for a direct, crisp gear change through the constant lock-up of the torque converter in second through eighth gears.The transmission also features a manual mode operated via a pair of paddles. Downshifts are accompanied by automated throttle blips to match engine RPM to vehicle speed

The IS-F rides about an inch lower and wider than the IS, courtesy of flared wheel surrounds and brake vents[The IS-F features custom-designed 19-inch forged alloy wheels as standard].
Heavy-duty Brembo brakes, designed to the car company's specifications, are the first to carry the Lexus name on them[14.2-inch discs and six-piston caliper].



Source:
Lexus to compete with BMW
+
2008 Lexus IS-F revealed | Leftlane - Car News For Enthusiasts

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Old 18th February 2007, 23:07   #8
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19" BBS alloys. 225/40-19 on bridgestone rubber.

Cross drilled brembos.

That is one mean looking Lexus which means business.
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Old 19th February 2007, 11:20   #9
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it was surprisingly nicer looking in person than the pictures, but still short of what I was expecting from a M3 competitor, the only advantage this one got this time is that the M3 is also quite sad looking so, this one would fit right in..

But its grand daddy the LF-A Concept was mind blowing in pictures and equally so in real life, what a car, if it aint too much in the lambo price range i would surely want one soon..its that good..
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Old 27th February 2008, 12:30   #10
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A Lexus That Can Keep Up?






Lexus's wants to rival the AMG series of cars with the Lexus IS-F, 0-100 in 4 seconds, 8 speed auto, Brembo brakes, 5.0 V-8 / 416HP / 371 LB-FT /51 KGM

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In the style of BMW’s M3, the new Lexus IS-F is the brand’s toe in the water of the factory-tuner segment — though it’s less like a toe than a fiery cloven hoof. This car started life as a Lexus IS350, a roundly capable and syrupy smooth sport sedan of no great note or interest. Boring, actually. Then it got rabies.

Now the car is very interesting: a rudely bulging front end, a 416-hp mountain motor bolted to a (count-’em) eight-speed transmission, gargantuan Brembo brakes and a suspension stiffer than Dita Von Teese’s corset stays.

Pointless? Deeply so. Was there ever an answer to a question so unasked as a hyper-performance Lexus? Still, here we are, and we shouldn’t be surprised.

The hole in Lexus’ bucket has always been high-performance variants to rival the Mercedes-Benz AMG cars, BMW’s M-series and Audi’s S and RS cars. These cars matter little to a luxury brand’s bottom line but mean everything when it comes to landing magazine covers. And, God knows, Lexus — the haute couture outlet of Toyota — has the money.

Lexus aspires to sell between 3,000 and 4,000 IS-Fs in the U.S. in the first year, which would make it a very rare car, the automotive equivalent of Zoroastrianism.

A curious historical note is that the IS-F’s direct-injection V8 is the same basic motor under the hood of the Lexus LS600h hybrid limousine — though “basic” it’s not. This engine — co-developed with Yamaha — hyperventilates like the front row of a Cher concert. Among its performance modifications: titanium intake valves, hollow camshafts, better-breathing cylinder heads and an extra oil-scavenging circuit to keep it all lubricated during high-G cornering. The business end of this unit cranks out 371 pound-feet of obscene, tire-murdering torque at a relatively busy 5,200 rpm.

The engine’s most vulgar feature, however, is the dual-inlet intake manifold, found somewhere inside the maze of engine plumbing. If you mash the gas in this car hard enough, this second inlet channel opens and the engine note transforms from a mellow Japanese wooffle to a soul-tingling, lycanthropic howl. Stay off da moorrrs, laddie!

The car also sings. The IS-F is equipped with an eight-speed automatic transmission, in which the gear ratio intervals are very evenly spaced. Eight speeds happen to correlate to eight notes of the diatonic scale — do, re, mi, etc. If you hold the throttle and speed steady, and you shift up and down with the shifter paddles, you can actually coax simple melodies out of the stacked-pipe quad exhaust, for instance, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” And, yes, I get paid for this.

The eight-speed gearbox is truly the heart of this car and the source of its license-losing magic. In manual mode, the lock-up clutch remains engaged in second through eighth gears, so that the automatic transmission behaves like a clutchless manual transmission — which is to say, when you lift off the gas going into a corner, you get engine-compression braking and big crackling overrun sounds from the exhaust. That’s filthy hot. Meanwhile, this is the quickest and smoothest-shifting automatic south of the Porsche 911 Turbo. At full throttle, the gear changes require less than a 10th of a second and are heard more than felt.

Put it all together and you’ve got a major piece of hardware, but a car of two distinct temperaments. Driven with restraint, the IS-F motors along like any other Lexus: quiet, tractable, with a miles-deep sense of quality (although our test car had a creaky driver’s seat mount). Start poking the accelerator and the car wakes up like you’ve thrown a cat on it — angry and ready to fight. Hole-shot acceleration is ferocious: zero-to-60 mph goes by a shade over 4 seconds, which is just plain crazy in a four-door sedan with an automatic transmission.
But where this car really shines is in mid-range acceleration. Puttering along at 65 mph in D, tap the right-side shifter paddle four times and bury the pedal. The big, deep-bolstered sport seat gathers you up like a jai alai basket and hurls you at the horizon.

Now you know what a front-side wedgie feels like.
And yet, for all its babbling brook of future tech and inscrutable acronyms like VDIM (Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management), in one respect the IS-F feels very old school: the low-revving engine. A very annoying warning tone sounds when the revs go over about 6,300 rpm and the fuel cutoff (the redline) is set at what feels like an unnaturally low 6,800 rpm. A warranty protection system? A Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS revs higher. I guess it’s a good thing the Lexus has eight gears.For chassis upgrades, Lexus ordered parts from a stone quarry and Bethlehem Steel. The front and rear spring and shock packages are super-stiff and — with the wheels tied together by major anti-roll bars front and rear — the ride quality varies from brisk to brutal. Because the ride height is so low, and the suspension travel so flinty, the car can easily run out of compliance on bumpy roads and get into a jarring, head-tossing, kidney-bruising fit. Also — as I found out on some of the local canyon roads — once the suspension travel is used up, the thing will skip and skitter madly through a turn. Never mind development on the Nürburgring, Lexus. Try Latigo Canyon Road.

Otherwise, the handling program is great: The car offers up spectacular amounts of lateral grip on its 19-inch, no-profile() Michelin tires. The steering is heavy but tight and precise. On smooth asphalt, the car is more neutral than beige carpet. Switch the VDIM to Sport mode and you can easily rotate the car with the throttle and gather it back up like a hero.

So it kicks like a rented mule and runs like winged Pegasus. It’s also a respectable performance value, retailing at $56,000 to start. Am I interested? Well, I’m curious. AMG and BMW’s M division have been around a long time. They have built credibility from the ground floor. Lexus seems to want to move into the penthouse right away. There was never any doubt that Toyota/Lexus could graft cojones onto one of its cars. But can it make people care?
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Last edited by BUSA : 27th February 2008 at 12:35.
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Old 27th February 2008, 12:56   #11
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Wonderfull car busa,The side and rear profile looks really cool.Out of words regarding the interiors.Is it launched already.
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Old 27th February 2008, 13:00   #12
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It can keep up, and then some more. In a recent test drive of similar vehicles (New M3, RS4, CL55 AMG, Chevy CSV CR8, and then some more) the ISF was considered the alround winner though the CL55 took top honours for just power.
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Old 27th February 2008, 21:02   #13
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By the way that 8- speed tranny is actually an Automatic. Its not Dual Clutch or sequential or whatever else. Its just an agressive automatic. Nice car with a huge price tag.
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Old 27th February 2008, 21:13   #14
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Read about this on MSN auto. This seems to be one goodie bag,with a heavy price tag.But,in all probability,it'll keep up with the M3.
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Old 28th February 2008, 06:09   #15
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Originally Posted by Nitin View Post
Read about this on MSN auto. This seems to be one goodie bag,with a heavy price tag.But,in all probability,it'll keep up with the M3.
They had it on Dyno at Houston Auto show last month Nitin. Did you go for the show? They were letting people to test it out on Dyno and I did try. Its not exactly like driving but pretty impressive figures I would say.
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