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Lexus RC F GT500 is the Super GT car Daft Punk fans will appreciate [w/video]

Lexus Racing's booth designers at the Tokyo Auto Salon clearly loved a certain French electronic music duo when they decided to promote the new Lexus RC F racecar from the Super GT series. The Daft Punk-inpsired race team appeared ready for a pit stop in this promo photo, wearing custom double-breasted suits made from race gear as well as top hats, headphones and reflective sunglasses.
Lexus Racing showed the car in the summer when it was known as the LF-CC, but the Tokyo Auto Salon gave the public the first chance to see the renamed RC F in full race trim. It replaces the aging Lexus SC 430 GT500 car with a sharper, more aggressive racing weapon making 500 horsepower from a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.
The RC F, Nissan GT-R and Honda NSX form a trio of new models in the top-spec GT500 arm of Super GT, as the class goes through one of its biggest changes in its history. The GT500 class and DTM in Germany are unifying their rules for the new season. The cars have the same limits on exterior dimensions and weight. The only major difference between them is that the GT500 cars are using 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engines, and the DTM is using naturally aspirated 4.0-liter V8s in its cars.

Lexus IS sedan refreshed and restyled in Beijing

The current IS with its polarizing sheetmetal has been for sale since 2013, and Lexus has now updated the styling, turning it up a notch. The new IS has a mouth that is perhaps even more gaping than the outgoing model's front end. The intakes have been enlarged, making the front bumper more aggressive even on the IS200t base model. Along with a reshaped spindle grille, the headlights have been redesigned and now feature L-shaped daytime running lights. The checkmark-shaped "light guides" underneath them have also been made more pronounced. Lexus says they have reached for a design that would make the car look like it's in constant motion even when sitting still – perhaps a design cliche, but often attempted, and the character line on the sides has been enhanced for that reason. Did they succeed? You be the judge. Inside, the central information display has grown from 7 inches to 10.3, along with getting higher resolution. Otherwise, the interior remains much as it was. There are small touches here and there, including a redesigned gauge cluster, but mostly it's all about new color choices. On the engine front, the lineup continues to rely on three engine choices. The IS200t carries on as the downsized base four-cylinder option with a twin-scroll turbo charger and cycle-shifting Variable Valve Timing-intelligent Wide – still good for 241 horsepower. The IS300 gets a 255-horsepower V6 and the top-rung IS350 offers up 306 ponies from its 3.5-liter V6. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. New Lexus IS Debuts at the 2016 Beijing Auto Show BEIJING (April 25, 2016) -- A daring new styling direction, exciting performance and innovative technology defined the completely new Lexus IS that was introduced in 2013. Since then, sales of the luxury brand's entry-level sedan have surpassed expectations, outselling the previous-generation model, which was very popular in its own right. At the Beijing Auto Show today, Lexus has taken the covers off the new IS, armed with a fresh new look and a number of important changes. Because the original styling of the current IS has proved so popular, Lexus has kept the essence of car's exterior appearance intact; however, the entire front fascia of the new model has undergone a transformation, highlighted by new headlamps, large air intakes in the front bumper and an evolution of Lexus' spindle grille.

Lexus to reveal production NX crossover at Beijing in April

At the Frankfurt Motor Show last year, Lexus rolled out a concept crossover called the LF-NX. It then brought it back, with a new paint job and a turbocharged engine, at the Tokyo Motor Show a few months later. We got another glimpse a couple of months after that during a presentation from Jim Lentz. But now Toyota has confirmed that the finalized production version is just around the corner.
While all the attention is affixed on the Geneva Motor Show, Toyota released a statement (which you can read below) announcing that the NX (as it will officially be known) will debut next month at the Beijing Motor Show. Set to be positioned below the RX, the new NX will tackle what Lexus terms as "the growing segment of premium compact crossovers," taking on the likes of the Audi Q3, BMW X1 and Mercedes-Benz GLK.