Auto blog

Lexus IS to get Deviant at SEMA

It's time to start gathering intel on SEMA, and it starts with this drawing of a modified 2014 Lexus IS. Lexus ran a competition on DeviantART, an online community for artists, to find a suitably modified IS that it could build and display at the temple of all things aftermarket in Las Vegas. The winner, as judged by a four-person panel from among more than 600 entries, is the IS rendered above by Rob Evans.
The winner looks like the beginning of a build for an IS entry into Japan's Super GT series, with a seriously exaggerated front spoiler and rear diffuser and fender flares that aren't just punched out, they're throwing 12-punch combinations.
Evans will have his car built by VIP Auto Salon and plastered all over Lexus materials promoting its presence at the show. Oh, and he gets an IS F-Sport for a year, among other prizes. Second place went to Lucia Lee, third place to Guangho Huang. A press release below has more on the competition and the winner.

Lexus coupe caught in spy shots actually RC, headed for Tokyo reveal?

Lexus may have pulled a fast one on us. The car our spy shooters spotted yesterday may not, in fact, be an IS F Coupe as we indicated. Rather, the car shown above may be a new model, dubbed RC, that will arrive at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.
Following a report from Automotive News, the RC is believed to be a pure coupe, rather than a hardtop convertible. This gels with information provided on the IS sedan's launch, when Lexus spokespeople said the IS Convertible would remain on the current platform. With styling based on the LF-CC from the 2012 Paris show, the new car will share a rear-drive platform with the IS and GS sedans.
Power is expected to come from a 3.5-liter V6 that turns out 306 horsepower. That car will likely wear the RC 350 badge. A hybrid model is expected to follow, but in a twist, it won't be coming to the US. The big news, though, is that the RC will spawn an RC F.

Are you the 2015 Lexus RC F?

With less than two weeks before the start of the 2014 Detroit Auto Show, we're starting to get a better idea of what some of the hot debuts are for this year's installment of America's premiere auto show.
The latest leaked image to hit the internet is what purports to be the Lexus RC F, the Japanese premium brand's long-awaited return to the coupe market and the latest challenger for the upcoming BMW M4, a model that will also be arriving in Detroit. This image was reportedly originally leaked by a Chinese magazine, and was then picked up by our friends at AutoExpress.
The image fits with the teasers and spy shots we've seen of the car so far, meaning that this could very well be the real deal. As we've previously reported, Lexus is expected to offer the RC F with a 460-horsepower V8, while a lower-power RC 350 with two fewer cylinders will also be available. We'll have the full set of details on the RC F when it hits the stage in Detroit.