Send to a friendteflon January 16th, 2008 1:36 PM Link
Does anyone remember the fate of the last Lexus race car?
Japan Report: Lexus IS-F Racing Concept
Written By: Peter Nunn
Tucked away under the lights at the Tokyo Auto Salon tuner show last week was the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept, this mysterious-looking IS-F festooned with huge fenders, wheels and spoilers looking like a refugee from Germany’s DTM race series.
What gives? Nobody on the Lexus stand was saying a word. Details on this wild IS-F were precisely and frustratingly zilch. Deliberately so, it seems.
It now transpires the car’s the pet project of IS-F chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi, a true rev head who built it not just for fun but also so that IS-F engineers can experience ‘true driving pleasure’ and something of what a full race IS-F might just feel like.
(Click through to read more about the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept.)
Word is, the car’s a complete one-off with no plans to race it in competition even though it definitely looks the part, and you imagine it must be something else to drive.
Meantime, a completely different racing Lexus IS-F is reportedly in the works for the GT300 category of this year’s Super GT championship in Japan.
Super GT? It’s Japan’s top race series, the nearest thing the nation has to NASCAR. Draws huge crowds and with 30-40 car grids makes for spectacular racing.
Right, and we now have it on good authority that this GT300 class IS-F entered by the Japanese Bandoh team will in fact be mid-engined, a configuration that’s already raised eyebrows and been described by one Super GT official as “crazy.”
Will it work? This mid-engined IS-F silhouette racer is set to appear at the opening Super GT test session at Suzuka at the end of February. Then we’ll find out.
7 Comments
Rex January 16th, 2008 6:09 PM Link
from Teflon
“Does anyone remember the fate of the last Lexus race car?”
No what happened?
That’s one Nut-rageous Design.
Jonathan Fung January 16th, 2008 7:02 PM Link
They stuck the engine in the middle? That is indeed crazy.
Details on the Lexus IS-F Racing Concept : The Passionate Pursuit : Lexus News Blog January 17th, 2008 6:25 PM Link
[…] is other news on the Lexus racing front, though, Winding Road has the lowdown: Meantime, a completely different racing Lexus IS-F is reportedly in the works for the GT300 […]
Winding Road » Archive » Animated Autos: Anime Plastered ‘Itasha’ Cars from Tokyo’s Comic Market January 18th, 2008 11:21 AM Link
[…] most of the mainstream motoring press in Japan was covering the recent Tokyo Auto Salon, itself a rather far-out, sub-culture heavy event, another auto event was taking place near […]
ejg January 24th, 2008 3:19 PM Link
What happened…? Apparently TRD japan or USA ( Ie Toyota) decided THEY wanted to be in charge of all prod. based racing programs in USA(?)and somehow Lexus got into an arguement with TRD/PCE i think it was apparently on who was supposed to actually RUN the new cars…. thsi after PCE/Chuck Goldsboroughs operation operating as “Team Lexus” for the past several seasons was well into the development of i believe 3 actual chassis for racin, one was pretty much fully complete & ready for testing & development etc for one of the GT classes in ALMS or what ever series i cant remember exactly which…grand am/Speed WOrld challenge ?
after developing some SICK looking race cars w/the New IS 350 body style the plug was pulled on Chuck and his teams involvement much less the whole of ” TEam Lexus and the cars they built haven’t been seen since…
pretty CRAPPY way to establish a nice racing program to tie in with your new performance intent Lexus.
ejg January 24th, 2008 3:21 PM Link
check out IS300.net or http://www.MyIS.com/net for more details .. & EXCELLENT pics of the still born Lexus IS350 GT race cars…
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