Lexus IS 2008 News

But the Neiman Marcus Fantasy Gift Book is no ordinary catalogue. Every year the upmarket American store assembles a list of the most exclusive gifts that money, and quite a lot of it, can buy.Tradition holds that each list includes a car, usually a limited edition produced only for the gift book.In case you’re still stumped for what to get that hard-to-buy-for person, this year’s custom wheels are the hand-polished 19” forged alloys at each corner of the 2008 Lexus IS-F Special Build.Powered by a 5.0-litre V8 that will get you to 100km/h in 4.9 seconds, the Lexus features the world’s first eight-speed direct shift gearbox, obsidian black paint, perforated black leather upholstery with white stitching, white leather accents on the special steering wheel, Mark Levinson state-of-the-art CD/DVD surround sound audio system, a thorough serving of limited edition badges, accessories and fripperies.All that for a mere US$68,000, which at the current exchange rate is not a bad deal. But you’ll have to be fast. Only 50 have been built, and there’s probably already a long queue of ridiculously over-indulged and under-fed blonde heiresses waiting to snap them up.In previous years, Neiman Marcus cars sold out quickly. The 100 $85,000 Cadillac XLRs in the 2003 catalogue were gone in just 14 minutes, although the 30 $125,000 Maserati Quattroporte from the 2004 list took three hours, perhaps patriotism made the Caddy more attractive than the Italian job. After all, Italy was a bit churlish in not sending its troops to help chase Saddam around the desert.But if you’ve missed out on the car, fret not. The list has other delights, and there’s bound to be something to suit everybody, if everybody has a five or six-figure spare change stash.Just $35,000 will see a 30-metre dragon topiary created in your garden from 15 indigenous plants, complete with blown-glass eyes and gold-leafed horns, claws, teeth, and fins.Get the latest bling tone with the Vertu Signature phone in 18ct rose gold set with seven carats of pink and white diamonds and featuring a speed-dial 24-hour global concierge service. Made to order for $73,000.If size matters to you, check out the 305 uncut diamond necklace. Edition of one. And it’s among the largest natural diamonds ever unearthed. A master jeweller will design and craft the stone into a necklace for you, but if you’ve forked over the $1,000,000 starter price for the rock itself you can probably have them build it into anything you command. The world’s biggest knuckle duster perhaps.Or you could have them swap it for the stone set into the gearstick of the $1,400,000 Gem Triton 1000 submarine; although that means it will no longer match the underwater joyrider’s gem-set keyring.But if you’d rather be upwardly mobile than sink into the depths, Neiman Marcus is offering the $80,000 Papalotzin Ultralight used by conservationist Vico Guiterez in his documentary; following the migration of the endangered monarch butterfly from Canada to Mexico. For $80,000 you get the machine, plus the chance to repeat the journey with the butterflies next year.If you’re looking for a more personal gift, New York artist Vik Muniz will paint your portrait in chocolate sauce for $110,000, and frame it suitably for presentation to your sweet-toothed lover.Chocolate sauce not quite cultural enough for you? Then you’re probably looking at this year’s price topper; a performance by the world-famous Kirov Orchestra for you and 499 of your close friends. With uber-maestro Valery Gergiev at the helm and the fiery Lola Astonova punishing a Steinway Concert Grand, the 10-piece orchestra will present the Nutcracker Suite, Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto and another Tchaikovsky piece of your choice. The bill is a a paltry $1,590,000; but you get to keep the autographed piano. 

It will sit below the existing IS250 sedan and is aimed directly at the 1 Series, with a likely starting price below $50,000.The plan points to a compact hatchback body, rear-wheel drive and a range of sporty engines with the emphasis on six-cylinder power and refinement. But there is an equal chance that Lexus could head into the crossover field, making the newcomer a small all-wheel-drive wagon.The car is not officially confirmed, although Lexus executives are open in their discussion of the project.“I believe in the strong necessity to include an entry-level Lexus model,” the executive vice-president of Toyota Motor Corporation, Tokuichi Uranishi, says.“It's not decided. It's just an idea at this moment.”But it is an idea, which is already being welcomed by Lexus in Australia.“We are getting a lot of requests for that sort of car,” the head of Lexus in Australia, John Rocca, says.“And, looking at our competitors, there is certainly a market there for it.”Uranishi says a baby Lexus would help the brand to improve its average CO2 emissions, offsetting the poor scores of heavyweights including the LandCruiser-based LX, but Rocca can see other advantages.“What it brings to the brand is another model, for starters. And market share,” he says.“I think the advantage we would have is that, having the Toyota brand, there is credibility that we can build a car that size. Similar to what we have already experienced with SUVs in the brand.”Lexus is pushing hard in Australia with six models from the IS through to the upcoming change for the LX500.The heavyweight four-wheel drive is expected to be a star in 2008, lifting the current sales rate of 12 cars a month to more than 50. The improvement will also be helped by a two-level strategy to set a competitive price point against rivals including the BMW X5, Porsche Cayenne and Mercedes ML.Rocca says the new models are the key to Lexus's plans to fight BMW and Mercedes for luxury car sales leadership in Australia.“We've got a pretty aggressive business plan that we are putting through at the moment,” he says.“It's reliant on product, but we have to plan out to 2015. It will range from 16,000 to 24,000 sales a year."“Plans like that are driven by product. But in the short term it will be driven through the dealer network. We need to expand the network."“At the moment we're at 22 and by 2015 we'd like to be at 38 dealerships. Most of the expansion will be rural and we're trialling the Japanese image, which has been used for setting up the brand there."“We're adopting that in Australia as a trial in Perth. The first of the new-look dealerships opens there in January.” 

Then there's this - the IS F. If Godzilla wore a business suit, this is very likely the car he’d drive to work. The first in a series of specialised “F” cars for Lexus, it’s Japan's answer to Germany's high-performance V8 mid-sizers such as BMW's M3 and Audi’s RS4. Carsguide was given a preview ahead of its appearance at the Australian International Motor Show on Thursday. The Lexus is the first ultra-fast sports sedan from Toyota's luxury division. An apparently 5.0-litre V8 has been shoehorned into an engine bay that normally hosts a powerplant of half that capacity, driven through the world's first eight-speed direct sport shift gearbox and the rear wheels. In order to be competitive with the usual suspects, the F car needed to achieve the 0-100km/h sprint in less than five seconds – 4.9, which is their precise claim. Lexus product planning manager Jeff Shafer relates preliminary specifications of “more than 300kW and more than 470Nm” to move its approximately 1.7 tonne kerb weight, distributed 54:46 per cent front-to-rear. As to the nomenclature, the “F” code signifies those special vehicles that are removed from the Lexus engineering and development mainstream. And, as it happens, much of the IS F development took place under Yukihiko Yaguchi at Fuji Speedway at the foot of Mt Fuji, an aptly volcanic backdrop for the car in question. Shafer is one of the chosen few to have driven the near-production IS F. While he says that Mr Yaguchi was “adamant that the IS F had to have the instant sensory elements of driving” it also needed to be sufficiently civilised to be a daily driver. In both respect, Shafer says the IS F is well-served by its all-new eight-speed Direct Sport-shift Transmission (DSS). 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 gear. In Drive mode, the transmission is skewed toward smoothness, and the torque converter allows for enhanced launch capability. For more frenetic deployment, manual mode allows fingertip shifting via the steering wheel-mounted paddles - the fastest changing of its type, Shafer says. Downshifts are accompanied by automated and precise throttle blips to match engine RPM to vehicle speed. Unlike the current and conventional IS, the Drive mode can be temporarily overridden by the paddles without engaging manual mode. So you can engine brake into a corner in your chosen cog and allow the torque converter to take over as you emerge. A smarter-than-ever Vehicle Dynamic Integrated Management System (VDIM) manages power delivery, braking response and suspension settings, all of which are changeable at the push of a button. Indeed, this newest VDIM has three modes, with the Sport mode providing what Shafer says is greater latitude before the electronic safety measure intervenes. Of course you can simply switch the thing off altogether and go your hardest, so it’s a good thing that this is underwritten by purpose-specced Brembo brakes. The standard wheels are custom 19-inch forged-alloy BBS number shod with 225/40R19s at the front and 255/35R19 for the rear. Of course, the F rides on a dropped and tightened suspension. These are also the subtlest visual hints the F is a departure. Other exterior pointers run to a bonnet that bulges to accommodate the bigger engine, a bespoke body kit and quad exhaust pipes. The interior is similarly understated but striking with aluminium composite trim, special surface treatments and F logo on the steering wheel and rear-centre console. The most obvious departure from the norm is that the F seats four not five, albeit in cosseting and supportive sport buckets. No doubt some will find the visual cues insufficiently bling, but anything more overt would be at odds with the executive express segment at which Lexus are aiming. The metallic blue of the car we were shown is the range’s signature colour, one that is intended to suggest a “flame when it gets to 1500 degrees”. On the face of it, the IS F will be hot enough for the Germans to feel the heat. See this car at the Australian International Motor Show  

Other brands before it have taken on a sideline of “hero car” models where sports looks and high performance earn the brand extra status. Lexus can make this move with justification: Lexus cars do race in various categories overseas, including at the famed Japan Fuji Speedway. And it's that first letter, F, that will mark the Lexus premium performance vehicles. First car in Australia, in about a year, will be the IS-F based on the existing compact IS250 which now has a 2.5-litre V6 engine delivering 153kW of power. The IS-F hot version will be aimed at European performance sedans. There's even talk of it running a five-litre V8 of 300kW, an eight-speed transmission (from the LS460 flagship saloon, perhaps) and limited slip differential to get better power to the ground. Lexus Australia manager John Roca says the IS-F signals the expansion of the Lexus range outside its traditional luxury-vehicle segment. “This IS-F is the embodiment of performance,” he says. “Just by looking at the vehicle, you know that it is something special. It will be the ultimate in performance cars and Lexus's first performance-specific model.” Lexus sister brand Toyota is about to release its performance version here, the TRD Aurion - the V6 has been supercharged to give a predicted 235kW of power. Holden performance arm HSV is doing well in sales while Ford has its Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and Mitsubishi is preparing a supercharged 380 V6, with 230kW of power being suggested.