bam

Does anybody know of any information about Lexus building an M3 competitor with the IS? Any info would be appreciated.

STIG

nope, no one knows for sure. But there are a lot of rumors out there.

IS500 is possible. I would love to see one as well.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yup there are rumors about is500, but i will believe it when i see it

Tony1

I don't think they'll make an IS with a bigger motor than
the 350 has right now for some time, it makes no sense.
That means the IS will have 3 different motors? Since
when in Lexus's history has it had 3 different motors
to choose from in one model..

Gojirra99

They will in May, when the GS450h comes out, then they will have GS300/430/450h, & later GS350/450h/460 . . .

bam

I hope that Lexus/Toyota truely builds a complete competitor with, say a 7 speed smg tranny and a slightly moded body style to seperate it from a "regular" IS. We all know Toyota is capable of building something special as we all remember the MR2 Turbo and Supra Turbo. Rumors are there to suggest that Toyota is bringing back the Supra. (pretty please!) OF course there is also the LF-A to suggest a high-end sports car.

Also, it would allow Toyota to market the car along with their F-1 program such as BMW is doing with their new M engines.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

I've heard of several rumors:

IS460: V8 engine on same body
IS450h: same hybrid engine as that of the GS on same body
IS500: V10 engine (I think this is for the LF-A coupe, not the IS) on a different body
IS coupe/convertible: replacement for SC, or perhaps a "baby SC"; who knows what engines it'll get.

One thing is for certain: THEY ARE ALL RUMORS!!! Not one thing confirmed, but also not one thing denied.

IS500 is UNlikely because of the LF-A racing coupe concept. Why make a $70k (estimate) version of their $100k (estimate) racer/"exotic"? Lexus will most likely put all their efforts to the LF-A rather than an IS500. But then again, compare the LF-A and the IS to BMW's M6 and M3. It is possible...

IS hardtop convertible is very likely. Compare the IS and SC with Mercedes' SLK and SL coupes. Lexus can definately pull this off. And to be competitive, Lexus needs to pull this off because of the upcoming hardtop BMW 3-Series.

IS350spBLK

Isn't the current IS350 already a good competitor for the current M3??? What does it got like 27 hp on the IS350? I dunno I think with some minor mods the IS350 could be right there with an M3 an automatic one at least. Just my opinion.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

there is always a first to everything. it would be stupid if lexus stay put just coz' they have never had 3 engines lineup ever. and just like andrew pointed out, look at the gs for 3 engine setup....

is500 v10? that's beyond unlikely imho. why would the car take a v10 when the flapship ls will only use a v8? that doesn't make any sense. if it's 5L, it will just be v8

and umm.... automatic m3? when did they have an "automatic e46 m3"? i hope you are not talking about the e36, coz' that's so old school even my gs400 can eat them alive. and the is350 being competitor to the e46 m3? far from, seriously.... it's not even in the same league. the is350 is fast, but as a performance car, the e46 m3 will really destroy the is350 on the track. the is350 just doesn't have the balance, the gear ratio, the timing / ecu of the m3

shaolin

iTrader: (2)

gotta hit the track to find that out....

IS350spBLK

Oops my fault they dont make an automatic M3, what am I talking about, but then on the other hand what the hell are you talking about. haha I'm sorry but I think majority of consumers don't take their cars to the track lol so when I say keep up with the M3 I mean from light to light. And I don't know if you ever driven one, but they're not the quickest cars in the world and a car doesnt have to be a stick to stay with it, my sisters 01' CLK55 automatic smoked an M3, well it also depends on the driver if they know how the hell to really drive a stick. So as I said before with the current engine in the IS350 with some aftermarket mods it wouldn't be to far behind the M3 (on regular street driving, not your expert track nascar crap)

bam

Let's keep in mind that the current M3 that's about 27 hp more than the IS is about to be phased out only to be replaced by a V-8 M3 rumored to have about 425 hp. so as far as engine goes, BMW has one up on Lexus in terms of an "m-division" because Lexus doesn't have a comparable "division." I also believe if Lexus were to go ahead with an M fighter, it would also be a V-8. This would allow them to utilize the develop of the V-8 from their Formula 1 department for their road cars as well and therefore spreading the cost of develop around. That's the same thing BMW is doing.

Don't get me wrong, the IS350 is fantastic and definitely leap years ahead of what the IS300 was but the IS350 is what the BMW 330i is. It's good for a small portion of buyers whereas the M3 is a niche car for a very small group of people. Maybe Lexus will create an "L-division."

Badman Forever

in actuality, the m3 only has a about 13 hp more than the is350. using old sae standards, the is350 has 320hp. that's why you see people hitting 13.6-13.7 in the 1/4 mi stock. now the m3 has a manual tranny plus alittle more power, that explains it hitting the low-mid 13 sec range. i personally believe the is350 is a competitor to both the 330i and the m3. it falls right in between them. even the american le mans classifies the is350 in the same class as the m3. of course both cars will have all the n/a mods available.. but you get the point.

IS350spBLK

THANK YOU!! Finaly someone that actaully is making some sense, and to "BAM" again im only refering to the CURRENT M3,I dont see why that is so hard to understand. I know the next gen is gona be on a whole nother level, no need to make that clear.

ebb100z

Actually, I think that the Canadian Sports Package Version of the IS350 with its true limited-slip differential would give the M3 good competition on the track. Once again, I am really sad that the IS350 does not have the true limited-slip differential on the Sports Package here in the US as it would make it a better weekend track car than what it is already capable of.