2004 Lexus Convertible on 2040-cars

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Lexus RC F GT3 will compete in IMSA SportsCar Championship

Lexus will field its new RC F GT3 in the GT Daytona class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. GTD is the lowest of the four classes of which the series is comprised, equivalent to the FIA's GT3 class. The team is owned by Trans-Am champion Paul Gentilozzi and his partners, and it's based out of East Lansing, MI. It will contest only a handful of races this season, though the schedule was not announced. The plan is to expand into a "multi-car effort" for 2017. Driving duties will be shared by the previously announced Scott Pruett and the newly signed Sage Karam. Both drivers were recently released from their contracts with Chip Ganassi Racing, for which Pruett drove in NASCAR and Karam in the IndyCar Series. He won the Indy Lights title in 2013 and impressed with a third-place finish last year in Iowa. This year's IMSA SportsCar calendar kicked off this weekend at Daytona, and will head next to Sebring in mid-March, Long Beach in mid-April, Laguna Seca in early May, and Detroit in early June. July will see races at Watkins Glen, Mosport, and Lime Rock, followed by rounds at Road America and VIR in August. The seasons concludes at Austin in September and Road Atlanta at the beginning of October. LEXUS TO COMPETE IN IMSA WEATHERTECH SPORTSCAR CHAMPIONSHIP AND F PERFORMANCE RACING ANNOUNCES SAGE KARAM AS DRIVER TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 29, 2016 -- Lexus and their F Performance Racing group have reached an agreement with the International Motor Sports Association to campaign the RC F GT3 in the IMSA Weather Tech SportsCar Championship. The agreement gives the Japanese Luxury automaker a presence in the GT Daytona (GTD) class race series through the 2018 season. "We are excited to reach this agreement with IMSA to campaign the RC F GT3 at such a high level. Our hope is to build a strong foundation for the new F Performance Racing organization during 2016 season, seizing the opportunity to develop the team and the race vehicle in anticipation of the multi-car effort during the 2017 season," said Jeff Bracken Group Vice President and General Manager, Lexus division. Additionally, F Performance Racing also announced that Sage Karam will join veteran racer Scott Pruett as drivers for F Performance Racing when the East Lansing, Michigan-based team campaigns the Lexus RC F GT3 for a limited schedule in the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. "We have had our eye on Sage for some time," said Paul Gentilozzi, Managing Partner of F Performance Racing.

Here's why our Lexus NX is uglier than the rest of the world's

Take a good look at the image above. That's the US-market Lexus NX 300h, and it looks, well... distinctive. Although the entire NX crossover sports styling that could certainly be described as controversial, it's the front end of the 'ute that seems to draw most of the ire, befitted as it is with Lexus' so-called spindle grill.
Now, take a look at the pair of images just below. The one on the left is from the States (the same model seen above), while the one on the right comes from Europe. Notice a difference? The lower front fascia of the European Lexus NX dips down much lower than the one from the US, and it looks much more refined because of it.
Why the disparity between the two designs? According to Top Gear Philippines, the reason why the US gets the more pointy proboscis is because of its classification as a light truck. It seems trucks are required to have some sort of concession to the car's approach angle - in other words, a truck should be able to clear an obstacle that a car might hit. Why does Lexus care if the NX is a car or truck? Well, that has to do with how fuel economy is reported, as trucks are given less-stringent requirements for Corporate Average Fuel Economy purposes.

Lexus nixes RC convertible in favor of LS-based 3-row crossover [w/poll]

When Lexus unveiled the LF-C2 concept at the LA Auto Show last week, it did two things: it previewed the direction in which the Japanese luxury automaker's design department was looking for the immediate future, and it previewed a cabrio version of the RC coupe (to replace the IS Convertible) on the other. But the latter, according to new reports, was ruled out before the concept ever took the stage. Although the prospect of a convertible version was engineered right into the RC coupe's chassis, Motor Trend reports that plans to put such a vehicle into production were met with hostility by Lexus dealers, who were offered a two-door convertible instead of the three-row crossover they've been lobbying for. As a result – and with a finite amount of development bucks on hand – Lexus is reportedly listening to its dealers, axing the RC Convertible program and proceeding instead with a seven-seat crossover. Plans to stretch the RX were reportedly ruled out, so Toyota is reportedly proceeding instead with a new model to be based on the LS sedan. The new model would take aim at the likes of the Mercedes GL, Audi Q7 and Infiniti QX60 when it arrives in three years as a 2018 model. It's not the first time we've seen Toyota listen to dealers asking for a high-end people-mover: Earlier this year, dealers in Japan asked the automaker for a luxed-out minivan, prompting it to build the Esquire van just for the Japanese Domestic Market.