Lexus

Toyota President Akio Toyoda will be one of the four drivers racing the Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA in the 41st annual Nürburgring 24 hour race this weekend in Germany, joining the team of Masahiko Kageyama, Hiroaki Ishiura, & Kazuya Oshima. The LFA will be racing in the SP8 class. The race will be livestreamed on the Gazoo Racing website, the Lexus Europe team will be providing live race coverage on Twitter, and racing updates will also be posted here at Lexus Enthusiast throughout the weekend. May 18th, 2013 6:26pm: The Lexus LFA has just finished two days of qualifying, and will be starting at 30th overall and first in the SP8 class in the race tomorrow (11am ET/8am PT) — Lexus Europe has posted some photos from the past two days:

Lexus Japan has released their first commercial for the new Lexus IS: The commercial was filmed without using any CGI, with the entire process documented in four behind-the-scenes videos.

Official Lexus tuner TRD Japan has just announced accessories for the new IS — first off, here’s a look at the full body kit: Let’s take a close-up look at the individual parts: Front Spoiler & Side Skirts Rear Spoiler, Mufflers & Diffuser TRD has also developed a new sports suspension, 19-inch forged aluminum wheels, member braces and a performance damper: As to be expected with TRD parts, these accessories are not cheap — the full body kit with sports mufflers are retailing for ¥437,700 ($4,281 USD), the suspension is ¥288,750 ($2,824 USD), and the forged aluminum wheels are a staggering ¥527,625 ($5,161

A strange looking Lexus has been spotted by Autoweek Netherlands — looking like a lifted CT, it’s likely a test development mule for the much rumored compact crossover: Believed to have the NX nameplate, this new Lexus compact crossover is expected to be shown in concept form at the Tokyo Motor Show this year before it debuts as a production model at next year’s Geneva Motor Show. See more photos of the Lexus NX Development Mule

Toyota President Akio Toyoda will be one of the four drivers racing the Gazoo Racing Lexus LFA in the 41st annual Nürburgring 24 hour race this weekend in Germany, joining the team of Masahiko Kageyama, Hiroaki Ishiura, & Kazuya Oshima. The LFA will be racing in the SP8 class — qualifying starts on Friday, May 17th, and continues through Saturday, with the final race beginning on Sunday at 11am ET/8am PT and ending twenty-four hours later. In anticipation of the race, Gazoo has released this video: The race will be livestreamed on the Gazoo Racing website, the Lexus Europe team will be providing live race coverage on Twitter, and racing updates will also be posted here at Lexus Enthusiast throughout the weekend. [Source: Gazoo Racing Website]

Lexus is the top overall automotive brand in Sweden, according to the country’s edition of Auto Index 2013. This is the second year in a row that Lexus has ranked first overall. Like in Norway, the annual award scores brands on vehicle quality, dealers, service and loyalty. Read more about Auto Index 2013 (Translated)

Edmunds has published a comparison between the 2013 BMW 328i M Sport, 2013 Cadillac ATS 2.0 Premium, and 2014 Lexus IS250 F Sport — here’s how the Lexus stacked up: Though Lexus is seriously outgunned with its entry-level powertrain (there is, of course, an IS 350, but there are also a BMW 335i and a Cadillac ATS 3.6), it takes the cake in terms of interior refinement and build quality. Make no mistake, the 2014 Lexus IS 250 F Sport is a very good car, if an imperfect sport sedan. Many buyers will find it easy to forgive the lack of grip and power in exchange for the low cost of entry and the exemplary, if awkward, interior. Edmunds ultimately chose both the BMW & Cadillac over the IS 250 F SPORT, though the result appears to based purely on performance with little regard for value — here’s some back-of-the-envelope number crunching, just for some perspective: The 328i was priced $2,000 more than the IS 250 yet lacked a navigation system, back-up camera, and paddle shifter

According to Motor Trend, Lexus may be building a small two-seat roadster as a result of the recent BMW/Toyota partnership — here’s a quote from the latest issue of the magazine: Sources in Japan say Toyota’s version (of the joint BMW/Toyota sports car) will actually underpin an all-new Lexus sports car, a suggestion that makes all the sense in the world given Akio Toyoda’s ambition to make Lexus a genuine global rival to the German lux-meisters. Whisper is the new Lexus will be positioned to compete with the Mercedes SLK, BMW Z4, and entry-level Porsche Boxster. If I understand this correctly, this would be an additional vehicle beyond the rumored RC mid-size coupe — if true, this could be a major shift in the way Lexus approaches mass production vehicles, as niche market models have never been a priority with the brand. The strategy reminds me of this Akio Toyoda quote from Automotive News: “When we have a design screening, my role is to simply talk with the right side of

Road trip announcement — this week, I’ll be joining a convoy of 2014 Lexus IS models as they make their way along the East Coast visiting U.S. Lexus dealerships. Current status: Heading to Boston from Newark Airport. Starting in Boston, we’ll be touring through eight states and visiting forty-one Lexus dealerships in four days — major stops will include NYC, Philadelphia, and Washington DC, and we’ll also be stopping at dealerships in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland. Every day, I’ll be updating with locations (if you want to stop by for a visit), and will be posting photos and updates throughout the trip — you can follow along here on the site, or by subscribing to the @LexusNewsLive Twitter account or the Lexus Enthusiast Facebook page.

Tuner Fox Marketing has once again outfitted the Lexus IS F with a twin-turbo setup, and in the process have created an all-blacked-out monster: Given the name The Black Mamba, this IS F has been equipped with a Turbonetics Turbochargers custom twin turbo kit to go along with its 20-inch iForged wheels and custom body work. (While I’m sure the result is impressive, there’s no mention of how much power is coming from the twin-turbo setup.) [Source: Fox Marketing Facebook]