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Lexus is sending its 2017 RC F GT3 to do battle in the US and Japan

Bare carbon fiber doesn't do much to tone down the swoopy, animal RC F GT3, does it? This is the latest tweak of the Lexus GT3 racer, which appeared in an earlier spec with the American team F Performance Racing. (Incidentally, the team changed its name to 3GT Racing recently to further differentiate itself from Lexus.) The latest RC F racer will compete in IMSA and Super GT racing. Lexus will field two cars in each series. Since GT3 and the Japanese GT300 cars share a spec, this RC F GT3 will race as an RC F GT300 in Japan with the LM Corsa team. On our side of the Pacific, the car will debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona on January 29th, and compete with the aforementioned 3GT Racing team in the GTD category of the IMSA Championship Series. Barring any unannounced changes, the 2,756-pound coupe will pack a front-mounted V8 derived from the production RC F's engine and tuned to deliver over 540 horsepower, depending on series regulations. It should be mentioned that in Japan, the car will race alongside its bigger brother, the LC 500 GT500 car, which we told you about last year. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2017 Lexus GAZOO Racing RC F GT3 Motorsports Lexus Coupe Racing Vehicles lexus rc f lexus rc f gt3

2016 Lexus IS gets revised engine lineup

Look, the old Lexus IS 250 sucked. With a slow, heavy, underpowered, thirsty, 2.5-liter V6 under hood, our own managing editor, Steven Ewing, dubbed it Jennifer Slowpez in his review. While we celebrate its death, we're raising our glass towards a far smarter lineup for Lexus' entry level sedan. As previously reported, the new rear-drive-only IS 200t steps in at the bottom of the range. You can read all about it in our original post from late last month. Today's news focuses on the V6. While the 3.5-liter V6 from the IS 350 will soldier on unchanged, Lexus is adding a detuned variant of Toyota's popular six-cylinder to create the IS 300 AWD. Where the IS 350 pumps out 306 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque, the all-wheel-drive-only IS 300 comes to party with a more relaxed 255 hp and 236 lb-ft of torque. That's still a hell of a lot more power than the old IS 250 AWD, which offered just 204 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. So, there we have it – IS 200t, IS 300 AWD, IS 350, and IS 350 AWD. And of course, Lexus' performance minded F Sport package is available regardless of engine, giving owners a sharper and more stylish character for their sedan. You can check out the nitty gritty details on Lexus' rejiggering of the IS range below. Lexus IS Sport Sedan Gets Revved Up In 2016 With Three Available Engines 2.0L Twin-Scroll Turbocharged Gas Engine for New IS 200t New 3.5L V6 Engine Provides More Options for All-Weather Drive with IS 300 AWD Agile Handling Throughout IS Lineup Available F SPORT Package Heightens Driving Experience July 24, 2015 2016 Lexus IS Sedan Product Information The Lexus IS luxury sport sedan models will continue to delight drivers with their balance of luxury, agility and sportiness as they enter 2016 model year with a three model strategy with IS 200t, IS 300 AWD, and IS 350. The former IS 250 and IS 250 AWD are discontinued. The IS adds to its stable of engines and receives a turbocharged gas engine, bringing the number of engine alternatives to three. Drivers will have a hard time deciding which IS to take home with rear-wheel drive (RWD), all-weather drive (AWD) and F SPORT variants. The new IS 200t, available as RWD only, features a 2.0-liter twin-scroll turbocharged inline four-cylinder engine with intercooler paired to an eight-speed automatic transmission. This engine cranks out 241 hp and has 258 lb.-ft. torque at 1,650-4,400 rpm.

2018 Lexus LC 500 Prototype First Drive

Chief executives aren't normally as candid as Akio Toyoda was last week. At the launch of hot new Lexus LC 500 coupe at the Detroit Auto Show, the chief executive of Lexus and Toyota and grandson of the company's founder, said that he'd received letters telling him that his Lexus luxury brand cars were dull and boring and that he agreed. "I took them to heart," said this tiny and forceful boss, "and I'm ensuring that the word 'boring' and 'Lexus' will never occupy the same sentence ever again." But boring has been an ongoing problem for Lexus. And for the last year I've been involved in trying to help solve it. Let me explain. Akio has made his extraordinary "Lexus is Boring" speech before. That was five years ago on the windswept golf courses at the Pebble-Beach Concourse d'Elegance at the launch of the fourth-generation GS sedan. With its new-look spindle grille, basking-shark air intakes, and razor-edged curves, GS was the first of the new-look Lexus models, but Akio still wasn't happy. In 2011, after 11 consecutive years of premium market leadership in America, Lexus had lost it to the Germans. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi didn't just build better looking cars, but more interesting and more fun-to-drive cars. "We're not just making a coupe, we're creating a new generation of Lexus." Lexus' shtick of reliability, immaculate-quality, hybrid gas-efficiency, golf-bag trunk optimization, and specification-adjusted value didn't cut it anymore. Akio, a keen race driver and petrolhead enthusiast, knew his cars needed a dynamic shot in the arm and a smoldering love affair with right-brain desirability. In short, he wanted Lexus engineers to build a car to bring a smile to drivers' faces. A tall order, then. And one which Koji Sato, deputy chief engineer on the LC had to consider carefully. As he says: "Akio's Pebble Beach speech was the starting point; we're not just making a coupe, we're creating a new generation of Lexus." With such a brief, and Akio's legendary peppery opinions in mind, Sato came up with a radical idea. Reckoning that sometime in-house teams can look so much in-house that they become blinkered, he decided he needed to open things up and recruit a team of outsiders. So, for the last year I, along with a small team of hand-picked journalists, race drivers, and keen-driving dealers, have been part of Sato-san's 'irregular army'. Why me? It's a good question.