Toyota's Latest Lexus Sportscar: The Lexus IS F
by EVANDER KLUM
Toyota has chosen the swerving Formula One racing course to showoff its latest luxury Lexus sports car with high quality Lexus exhaust just to send the message that the new IS F model is one car that shouldn��t be messed up with.
Before the testing began, reporters were made to wear helmets before getting into the IS F where they will be taken for a ride by professional drivers for two laps at the speed of 149 mph.
Reporters swayed in their seats as the sportscar careened to turn on sharp corners. They hold tight afraid of the growling engine at high speeds while sensing the pavement speed by.
Executive Vice President Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the Japanese automaker��s founder was also present and was wearing a black racing outfit and was one of the test drivers for the said event.
Vice President Toyoda is the one delegated to oversee the company��s sales and he acknowledge the fact that Lexus really needs time to grow into a ��premium brand�� especially in Japan where the nameplate was first introduced three years ago. He also believes that Lexus requires that emotional factor of being exciting to drive in order to compete well in the luxury segment of the market.
The IS F is a powerful version of the Lexus IS which is already available. The additional letter ��F�� at the end of the IS F stands for ��Fun�� or the Fuji Speedway, explained Toyoda.
The latest Lexus can very well match with popular German imports in terms of acceleration and performance which makes Toyota optimistic of its sales results in the market.
The Japanese automaker is hoping to sell a total of 7,000 Lexus IS F cars worldwide next year of which 5,000 or 6,000 are to be sold in the US while 500 will be distributed in Japan while the remaining 500 destined for Europe.
The price of the new IS F sportscar is $67,000 and has a maximum speed of 186mph. It is powered by a 5 liter V8 engine that delivers good mileage for a sportscar with only 8.2 kilometers per liter or around 20 miles a gallon.
It will hit dealerships in Japan in December 25 just in time for Christmas and will reach US either February or March that is according to Toyota Executive Takeshi Yoshida.
In addition, the maker of US best-seller Camry and the gas electric hybrid Prius, Toyota has been trying to add special features to its products such as a hybrid to its Lexus lineup. But of course, this doesn��t mean that the Japanese automaker will be confined to just producing hybrid vehicles and the IS F is an example of what Toyota is capable of.
