elclassico

im gonna tune in next tuesday and hopfully catch a repeat. the lexus IS430... i wonder what the total cost of that is?

mooretorque

Uh.......here's the first thread that mentioned it as an upcoming show on TLC, posted 1/27

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...hreadid=109066

You surf very often on this forum??

elclassico

any pictures? good responses...

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

elclassico, if you read to the bottom of that thread, you'll find an active discussion of the car *after* the show as well .


I'm merging your thread with that one. Comment away I've got it Tivo'd but haven't watched yet.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

cost? just the engine swap or together with teh paint job, all the other mods, and the ML audio?

jmecbr900

I'm with Rominl, the cost of the "one-of" RMM IS430 would be astronomical.

A production ready one, if Lexus ever did one, would probably be in the M3 price range. IMO, it darn well should be too. There is no stock M3 putting down that kind of HP. The M3 is a bad *** machine, no doubt, but an IS430 would be one too.

IMO, not only has it been shown that it can be done, but it should be. The interchangeability of Toyota performance parts among our models makes production issues normally associated with a "new" car model non-existant. Toyota could easily produce the parts to build this right off the current stock of parts.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

actually i think if lexus is ever going to market the is430, the car should be around 50k. if they sell it at 60k just like the m3, i don't think the is430 is going to sell good. here's my reason of why.

the m3 is legendary, ther eis no doubt on that. you like it or not, it's dream car for a lot of people. the reputation is right there, and the reality tells that some people will just pay the money for this thing. if the is430 is put together with the m3, believe me most people will just say there is no reason not to get m3

and second of all, in fact, the is430 (at least the rmm one) is still not capable of beating the m3. i strongly believe that. it's doing 4.9 0-60, and a lot of people can do around 4.6 to 4.7 in the m3 no problem. and if you throw in the handling, the m3 is just going to eat the is430 alive. i have an is3, and i have driven the m3. the handling of the m3 is just plain stupidly insane. even with coilovers and all the braces and a set of good rims, the is430 would at most get close or become the same as the m3 i'd say. but keep in mind that probably means another 3k extra on the price tag.

yes someone might argue that it's a v8 in the is3 but it's "only" an i6 in the m3, but seriously, who the hell care when you are talking about true performance. it's all about how much power you can get out of the engine. the v8 might cost more than the i6 but as long as the bmw i6 is pushing very competitive power, that's all people care.

so to me, if lexus want to do the is430 market (besides the engine, with slightly more sport suspensions and more aggressive wheel setup. forget about brakes, it's not going to happen imho), 50k is a good start point. lexus should do what they are best at -- offering competitive stuff at a more aggressive price. if people see both cars, is430 and the m3, performance close to each other but the is430 has a 10k less price tag, it would be a better choice for people to make.

and it would still meet the "criteria" of being exclusive. not that people can afford 50k for this small car, so it' snot like every kid out there can get it.

but the most important question is of course whether lexus can do it at the price. the v8 is indeed pretty expensive to make, and we can see that the gs430 being the cheapest v8 among the lexus lineup and it's still 60k loaded. i am not sure if the interior difference, etc... between the is300 and the gs430 will make up the extra 10k

jmecbr900

Point well taken.

The IS430 would definetly need some polish to dethrone the mack daddy M3. I agree with you though, @ $50k for similar performance would make Lexus more attractive in that market place.

jimmit

If Toyota does bring the IS430 into the market and I dont see any reason they should it would outsell all of its competitors. I mean look at Lexus' history. They build something that can either outperform or come close to its competition and then they price it below its competitors. They also add in quality and reliablity without sacrificing too much performance and when its comes to selling for the Lexus division they dont play around. The IS430 would fit right into the little niche and sell really well without a doubt. I dont see it coming for a few years though and not till the next body redesign. They are still focusing on bring a 2 door convertible and maybe replacing the sportcross so I'm thinking they will finish with that and then move on to the 430. No doubt about it though. If they plan on entering the market for selling a new car above the LS430 the IS430 isnt a question of "if" but a question or "when"

Normally when a car manufacturer goes through all the trouble of see how the public would respond to a new model they dont ignore the opinions. They have something in mind and they're VERY well known for hiding things till its debut

magnetik

iTrader: (1)

I downloaded the whole episode from my Tivo and divx'd if anyone missed it. Remember it's a divx file so you will need to get a divx player even though it's an avi. The quality is great too. It's 303mb. I would recommend downloading it instead of trying to stream it tho'. If anyone wants it streamable.. let me know.. I will put it in Windows Media format.

http://www.txraves.org/~magnetik/rides/rides-is430.avi

you can get a divx player from www.divx.com

Julian Brock
98 Spectre Blue GS400

rominl

iTrader: (4)

big props!

thisguy_06

Magnetik , you are awesome!!!!

RA40

iTrader: (6)

The first couple RIDES were good, the Shelby Cobra and Fast FWD Mustang and then....

I was hoping to see some blood guts mods like the new cross member, brakes, drive line, ECU... I would have liked to have seen how they welded up the adapter plate from the Supra tranny so it would fit the 430 motor. What they showed in the previews was basically it.

The Discovery channel featuring Boyds hot rods is a nice show.

Lexkost

Hey Mike , When I had Boyd wheels on my other car ,one cracked so I took it to Boyds and they gave me a nice tour of the place where they build wheels and cars, they repaired the wheel and sent it to my house all free of charge!!.............it was worth having damaged wheel see a place like that.