Faraaz23

The people shopping for this Lexus are going to want a luxury car. The Nissan GTR is gonna be a *****-out sports car... as people are saying, different class. I suspect people who want a sports car minus all the luxury frills may not be that inclined toward IS-F in the first place. The Lexus is more of a competitor to the next C-class AMG, Audi S4, M3, CTS-V, etc. The Nissan GTR i'd pit against the Z06.

txguy977

This is the pic from the Road & Track...

jjbodean

yup, thats the same car i saw in different pics out in vegas

NovaIS350

I was talking about the LF-A, the 500hp super car.

MPLexus301

iTrader: (3)

8SPD automatic trans is a bit of a let down. I know that many of us were hoping for a manual and while I never thought it would happen, a DSG or SMG type gearbox would be a step in the right direction, and it's not like they couldn't use this V8 with that transmission in another application (GS, SC).

Mercedes gets away with strictly automatics, so I guess we'll have to see what they come up with in the end. A beefed up tranny with re tuned and more aggressive gearing could not be so bad. Not quite what I would like, but better than just the same one as the LS. 8 forward gears tuned for acceleration could be a good bit of fun I suppose, and hopefully the paddle shifting sticks around.

I also wish that they could use something other than BBS multi spoke wheels. I know there are only so many options, but if they're going after the M3 I wish they would do it with a less BMW-esque wheel. I guess we'll have to see what they come up with but people usually think multi spoke and then think BMW. I'll be interested to see what other cosmetic upgrades and enhancements the "F" gets. I'm pretty interested to see how they reshape the front end to allow more air into the 5.0L beast. Yamaha heads sounds gooooooooood to me

Has there been any mention of weight reduction though? The IS is a heavy car, and even shedding off 300 or 400 lbs would be significant, though it sounds like some of the hardware for this new car could ADD weight.

XeroK00L

$55k is much higher than the upcoming E90 M3, which starts from just under $50k. I wonder if it's because the IS-F will only come fully loaded.

javyLSU

iTrader: (21)

If by "fully loaded" you mean the paint, wheels, and airbags are already included in the price, then yes - the Lexus does come fully loaded. BMW "options" you to death...

Javier

XeroK00L

If that car in the R&T pic is indeed the same car you saw... hmm...dunno... I was expecting somewhat more dramatic changes like more prominent fender flares and some kind of an aerodynamic kit like in the X-Package. But still, the new bumper and new wheels don't look too bad I guess.

Ramon

55k for a base model is pretty steep, especially when considerng a fully loaded 350 costs 10k less then a base IS-F, so you're looking at a 15-20k premium for those two extra cylinders on a comprably equiped IS-F.

Still, I'm pretty excited to see this thing come full circle. I'd love to see an underhood shot of how they crammed a 5L V8 in there.

XeroK00L

Not really. A fully loaded IS350 costs around $48,500, so the premium is more like $6,500. That is, IF the IS-F only comes full loaded (which I highly doubt).

omgitsroy

iTrader: (1)

i dont' think this will be a competitor at all... if it's aiming at sport luxory..it has to be a manual.. or a real sequential

Ramon

I highly doubt it comes full loaded too, so once comparably equipped, the premium is a lot higher than $6,500. Not to mention the IS-F will more than likely see higher dealer markups than an IS350. It's definitely a niche market. I guess it will all depend on how it compares to the M3 in terms of both price and performance.

Ramon

AMG's are both sport and luxury, and do both quite well too. They have automatics

NINEZeRO

Do you think the 8 sp auto tranny will be somewhat like a M3 SMG or just a triptronic like the current IS 250/350. 8 speed is amazing, but auto is a mistake for a enthusiasts cars. What in the world are the engineers at toyota thinking?

ISbb

good know the details of the IS500, but the picture dosen't match to the spec e.g. where are the BBS wheels? and the front bumper look like GOLF GTI... I don't think that is IS500 dude