Lexus: IS News
08-26-2003, 01:07 PM
#42
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Originally posted by Reddly9007
Finally! lexus finally opened their eyes to a new segment in the market, which bases on their already noticable quality should easily take market share from other car manufacteurs. Now if only acura would do the same, Honda/Acura don't seem to car much about producing oversized engines for cars. I'm sure if lexus has a good showing with the IS V8 then Acura will be more inclined to jump into the water also
Finally! lexus finally opened their eyes to a new segment in the market, which bases on their already noticable quality should easily take market share from other car manufacteurs. Now if only acura would do the same, Honda/Acura don't seem to car much about producing oversized engines for cars. I'm sure if lexus has a good showing with the IS V8 then Acura will be more inclined to jump into the water also
08-27-2003, 09:41 AM
#44
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Good, time to trade up my CLS... It'll be nice to own a RWD again. CLS is my 1st and last FWD.
Lexus fit and finish is better too
To bad the is300 is underpowered. Well not anymore
Lexus fit and finish is better too
To bad the is300 is underpowered. Well not anymore
08-27-2003, 06:56 PM
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unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
08-27-2003, 11:50 PM
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Originally posted by heyitsme
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
08-28-2003, 10:56 AM
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Originally posted by heyitsme
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
Thinking about the CTSV, I am already having thoughts of the engine we will see in the CTSV two years from now. That's when I am guesstimating it will receive the engine of the C6 Z06. Rumors call for at least 500HP. So then it is competing with the next M5. Beast is the right word. That's for sure.
11-06-2003, 07:41 AM
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Liberating the beast within: Lexus unveils V8-powered IS 430 project
Posted by: kak on Thursday, November 06, 2003 - 11:54 AM CET
Lexus unveiled a one-off example today of its IS 300 luxury sport sedan powered by a 4.3-liter V8 engine from a Lexus GS 430. Seeking to demonstrate the potential of the IS 300, Lexus commissioned Rod Millen Special Vehicles (RMSV) to build the car. The resulting "IS 430" was completed last week at Millen's shops in Huntington Beach, Calif. "We wanted to explore the performance possibilities of the IS 300," said Lexus Group Vice President and General Manager Denny Clements. "The marriage of our 4.3-liter V8 with the sporty IS 300 creates a classic muscle car." The potent V8 engine was paired with a Getrag 6-speed manual transmission and lightweight flywheel, which drive the rear wheels through a stronger limited slip differential and GS 430 driveline components.
Total Performance Approach
The concept direction from Lexus required that handling be matched to the high-powered V8 while maintaining reasonable ride comfort and noise levels. TEIN springs and 16-way electronically adjustable shock absorbers work with the original IS 300 front suspension in addition to selected GS 430 rear suspension components, which help ensure durability against the higher torque of the 4.3-liter V8. Large, sticky Michelin Sport Cup tires on 18-inch Speed Star SSR alloy wheels put the power to the ground.
A similar approach was taken with the cooling system and brakes. A GS 430 radiator was fitted to provide ample cooling for the high-output engine. Large Brembo brakes with vented, cross-drilled rotors and four-piston aluminum calipers are there to arrest the newfound acceleration and speed of the IS 430.
"The standard IS 300 is a robust and well balanced sport sedan, so we thought it would respond well to the additional power of the Lexus V8 engine," said Rod Millen, president of RSMV. "With a package of complementary modifications, it has exceeded our expectations."
Although not a simple conversion, the V8 and 6-speed fit well within the compact IS 300 body structure. Curb weight is slightly higher than the standard IS, some of which is due to larger/stronger components needed to deal with the increased performance and some from the new audio/video system.
"Fitting the 4.3-liter V8 and six-speed manual transmission to the IS 300 was fairly straightforward," said Millen. "The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body - something it was never designed to do."
RMSV's engineering team met the challenge with expertise developed through years of successful racing and building special vehicles for military and automotive clients. They focused on designing the electronics interface while simultaneously working through the mechanical conversion and enhancements. Numerous parts were specifically fabricated for the IS 430 including stainless steel exhaust headers and dual exhaust system, transmission adaptor, engine and transmission mounts, air intake system, wire harnesses and fluid connectors.
"Next Generation" Entertainment System
Pushing the IS 300 performance envelope was not limited to vehicle dynamics. Lexus also wanted to discover the potential of what might be termed a "next generation" in-vehicle entertainment system. Lexus naturally turned to its premium audio systems partner, Mark Levinsonâ, whose system engineers were eager to gain experience with their advanced system development work and receive feedback from users in the field.
The goals for the experimental system were the introduction of a discrete multi-channel 7.1 surround sound experience suitable for automotive use, complete system integration of audio and video, and advancement of sonic performance beyond previous OEM premium systems.
The result of their vision is a 20-speaker/24-channel, 720-watt* audio/video system using a proprietary DVD video player and removable 6.5-inch wide-screen video display. This prototype Mark Levinsonâ system is well suited to the expanded performance of the IS 430.
Functional Aggression
To complete the package, Chip Foose from Foose Design was employed to give the IS 430 a more aggressive yet functional appearance. Foose used subtle upgrades including a Rhys Millen Racing front lip spoiler and side skirts with a black over red exterior color scheme that emphasizes the wedge profile of the tightly drawn IS body. A mesh grille and gray headlamp treatment is used up front, and the taillights and rear badging are modified for a simpler look at the rear. Dual exhaust tailpipes not only improve performance, but also help advertise the potent 4.3-liter V8 engine.
11-06-2003, 09:46 AM
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this is not a production vehicle....they wont do anytthing like this that will be available to the consumer AT LEAST till the new body style. dont wet your panties boys, these custom IS430's have been around for 3 years now.
11-06-2003, 10:43 AM
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aside from the paint job I LOVE IT!
11-06-2003, 11:17 AM
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Originally posted by jimcol711
this is not a production vehicle....they wont do anytthing like this that will be available to the consumer AT LEAST till the new body style. dont wet your panties boys, these custom IS430's have been around for 3 years now.
this is not a production vehicle....they wont do anytthing like this that will be available to the consumer AT LEAST till the new body style. dont wet your panties boys, these custom IS430's have been around for 3 years now.
11-08-2003, 09:29 PM
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Originally posted by 1SICKLEX
Shit sign me up.
Shit sign me up.
best of luck.
11-08-2003, 10:05 PM
#62
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Originally posted by heyitsme
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
unlexuslike so i think its unlikely. be more profitable to just upgrade the power output on the is300 to compete with the g35.
thats not enough to pull me away from this beast-
God, I can hear the motor now...can't wait for it if they put a 500-hp Z06 motor in there, I hope it stays at or near 50k if they do that.
11-08-2003, 10:21 PM
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CTS-V is the one and only domestic car you I would buy right now. Gotta love that thing.
11-09-2003, 04:27 PM
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Hey sick, you found your next lex bro, good luck with all the shit. I saw on the other site it was totalled, sorry, hope all the bs with the law gets tossed out.
best of luck.
Thanks dude.
best of luck.
Thanks dude.
12-23-2003, 08:44 AM
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Lexus IS 430 prototype
Muscle Car Mania Hits Lexus... Or it might hit Japan, if the home office green-lights the V8-powered IS 430
By MARK VAUGHN
THE FORMULA IS AS OLD as time.
Okay, it’s as old as the 1964 model year, when John Z. DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee dropped a 389 from the big Bonneville into the smaller Tempest LeMans and created the mighty Pontiac GTO. There are probably earlier examples of this formula but the GTO is the one that gets all the credit. It works because it’s simple—stuff a big engine in a small car, step on the gas and go, leaving a trail of tire smoke.
Now it is Lexus’ turn to apply the formula. Yes, Lexus has gone muscle car. That bastion of muted elegance and understated solemnity wrapped in a cloak of Kaizen is out cruising stoplights looking for fun. The IS 430 is an IS 300 with a big 4.3-liter V8 engine wedged into the relatively small space once occupied by the 3.0-liter straight six.
Two similar cars were done a year ago by Lexus in Germany. Racer-turned-businessman Rod Millen did this project, his fourth for Lexus/Toyota after the Lexus Hot Rod (AW, Sept. 21, 1998), FJ-45 Retro Cruiser (AW, Oct. 18, 1999) and a 500-hp Celica that debuted at the Los Angeles auto show in 2000 (AW, Jan. 17, 2000). Of course there were also Millen’s drives up Pikes Peak in Celicas and Tacomas, the fastest of which still holds the unlimited record of 10:04.
Making the big swap turned out to be far less complicated than you might think. New engine mounts were required, but the engine itself fit without modifying the hood, firewall or any sheetmetal. Only a few peripheral drives had to be remounted. The GS 430’s radiator fit nicely, too. And since the V8 is aluminum and the straight six has an iron block, the two engines weigh almost exactly the same.
The formula is tried and true: Stick a big V8 under the hood of a small car and voila, you get a tire-smoking grin-maker. Lexus has put a 4.3-liter V8 into an IS 300 chassis. We’re hopeful the IS 430 will see production.
With all the changes made to it, the car itself comes in just a little heavier with the V8—3459 pounds vs. the stock car’s 3410 pounds.
The new car has a Supra six-speed manual transmission, which required some modifications to the bellhousing to clamp onto the V8. But the Supra shift lever pokes perfectly through the hole in the transmission hump. Driveshaft and halfshafts come from the GS 430 while the differential is from a Supra.
The hardest part of the engine swap was not mechanical but electronic. “The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body—something it was never designed to do,” said Millen.
Luckily, Rod Millen Motorsports has “a guy who’s really good at that sort of thing,” according to Rod. In reality, Millen’s team of engineers includes Ph.D.s and brainy engineers who spend most of their time working on top-secret projects for the military. Think of Jesse James’ Monster Garage minus the tattoos and piercings and with finite element analysis capability.
The monster IS received other adjustments, too: a more drag-friendly 3.769:1 final drive with a limited-slip differential; 16-way adjustable shocks; big, cross-drilled Brembo ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers; Speed Star SSR 18-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, 225/40R front and 265/35R rear, and with ZR speed ratings; Rhys Millen Racing (Rod’s son) front lip spoiler and side skirts to go with the IS 300 rear spoiler; a Chip Foose black-over-red paint job; and the requisite Mark Levinson stereo, in this case, a 720-watt multichannel system with 20 speakers.
Best of all, it’s a driver, though maybe driver is too tame a word. We got to take the car out at the short, tight Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs, California, and man, oh man. While the balance front and rear is good, all that power in such a light car is just stupid fast, as the kids say. Immediately upon flooring the gas you feel torque that seems about twice that of the IS 300. Millen estimates it is 300-plus lb-ft vs. the IS 300’s 218. We’d add a few pluses to that figure. Horsepower is again estimated, at 340 vs. the IS 300’s 215, but it feels closer to 400. Whatever, the car goes like a whacked cat.
Step on the gas exiting a corner and the rear end steps right on out—not suddenly and dangerously, but it steps, no doubt about it. It didn’t spin during our drive, but a little more time on the throttle in those corners and the powersliding rear would have passed the front. This would be a great car for a smoky tire burnout contest.
The roar from the new intake and exhaust leaves no doubt as to what is underhood and makes being stealthy at stoplights tricky.
It was crazy fun.
Like any prototype, it still needed some tuning, maybe stiffer springs, shocks, antiroll bars—all that black-art setup stuff that eventually balances the engine’s power with the suspension’s ability to get it to the ground. The final drive could be shorter, the throttle more linear, the clutch smoother and engaged lower in the clutch pedal travel. We are not complaining—in a production car those points would all be addressed.
Yes, production. Right now “there is no plan” to produce an IS 430, but there could be. Lexus will sell about 14,000 IS 300s this year, down from 20,000 in 2002. The fact that sales are falling suggests Lexus has to do something to boost interest in the IS.
The purpose of this IS 430 exercise is to get executives in Japan to see the light. Or at least feel the horsepower. Strap them behind the wheel for a few laps and they’ll sign anything. But for such a relatively slow seller, it is tough to argue for an IS 430 as a moneymaker, especially after the high price of getting federal approval for all the components.
“If there isn’t a strong business case, we probably won’t do it,” said Bryan Bergsteinsson, former Lexus chief who now heads up training at Toyota. “But part of this is to have fun, goddammit.”
It was rare in this politically correct era to hear a high-ranking auto executive other than Carroll Shelby say that on a press launch. Like the power of the IS 430, it was refreshingly authentic.
Bergsteinsson went on: “The IS 300 has brought us younger buyers, new buyers. Does every iteration of every car line have to make a business case on its own? We sold more GS 300s because we had the GS 430 in the showroom—it’s the umbrella car for the whole line. You could look at a lot of cars that way. We never would have built the Prius. I would disagree that every car has to make a profit.
“Performance is an important part of the IS makeup. It continues to bring a younger buyer into Lexus.”
And that may be the strongest argument yet. All those kids driving Scions and sport compacts are eventually going to get jobs and start making money, and they will have to move up somewhere. Many of them have already wandered off to BMW. A car like this would keep them in the Lexus/Toyota fold.
So if this is an exercise in getting the attention of Japanese executives, we say, “Hey Japanese executives, build this car!” But maybe that’s just because we want to drive it some more.
Source: Autoweek
Muscle Car Mania Hits Lexus... Or it might hit Japan, if the home office green-lights the V8-powered IS 430
By MARK VAUGHN
THE FORMULA IS AS OLD as time.
Okay, it’s as old as the 1964 model year, when John Z. DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee dropped a 389 from the big Bonneville into the smaller Tempest LeMans and created the mighty Pontiac GTO. There are probably earlier examples of this formula but the GTO is the one that gets all the credit. It works because it’s simple—stuff a big engine in a small car, step on the gas and go, leaving a trail of tire smoke.
Now it is Lexus’ turn to apply the formula. Yes, Lexus has gone muscle car. That bastion of muted elegance and understated solemnity wrapped in a cloak of Kaizen is out cruising stoplights looking for fun. The IS 430 is an IS 300 with a big 4.3-liter V8 engine wedged into the relatively small space once occupied by the 3.0-liter straight six.
Two similar cars were done a year ago by Lexus in Germany. Racer-turned-businessman Rod Millen did this project, his fourth for Lexus/Toyota after the Lexus Hot Rod (AW, Sept. 21, 1998), FJ-45 Retro Cruiser (AW, Oct. 18, 1999) and a 500-hp Celica that debuted at the Los Angeles auto show in 2000 (AW, Jan. 17, 2000). Of course there were also Millen’s drives up Pikes Peak in Celicas and Tacomas, the fastest of which still holds the unlimited record of 10:04.
Making the big swap turned out to be far less complicated than you might think. New engine mounts were required, but the engine itself fit without modifying the hood, firewall or any sheetmetal. Only a few peripheral drives had to be remounted. The GS 430’s radiator fit nicely, too. And since the V8 is aluminum and the straight six has an iron block, the two engines weigh almost exactly the same.
The formula is tried and true: Stick a big V8 under the hood of a small car and voila, you get a tire-smoking grin-maker. Lexus has put a 4.3-liter V8 into an IS 300 chassis. We’re hopeful the IS 430 will see production.
With all the changes made to it, the car itself comes in just a little heavier with the V8—3459 pounds vs. the stock car’s 3410 pounds.
The new car has a Supra six-speed manual transmission, which required some modifications to the bellhousing to clamp onto the V8. But the Supra shift lever pokes perfectly through the hole in the transmission hump. Driveshaft and halfshafts come from the GS 430 while the differential is from a Supra.
The hardest part of the engine swap was not mechanical but electronic. “The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body—something it was never designed to do,” said Millen.
Luckily, Rod Millen Motorsports has “a guy who’s really good at that sort of thing,” according to Rod. In reality, Millen’s team of engineers includes Ph.D.s and brainy engineers who spend most of their time working on top-secret projects for the military. Think of Jesse James’ Monster Garage minus the tattoos and piercings and with finite element analysis capability.
The monster IS received other adjustments, too: a more drag-friendly 3.769:1 final drive with a limited-slip differential; 16-way adjustable shocks; big, cross-drilled Brembo ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers; Speed Star SSR 18-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, 225/40R front and 265/35R rear, and with ZR speed ratings; Rhys Millen Racing (Rod’s son) front lip spoiler and side skirts to go with the IS 300 rear spoiler; a Chip Foose black-over-red paint job; and the requisite Mark Levinson stereo, in this case, a 720-watt multichannel system with 20 speakers.
Best of all, it’s a driver, though maybe driver is too tame a word. We got to take the car out at the short, tight Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs, California, and man, oh man. While the balance front and rear is good, all that power in such a light car is just stupid fast, as the kids say. Immediately upon flooring the gas you feel torque that seems about twice that of the IS 300. Millen estimates it is 300-plus lb-ft vs. the IS 300’s 218. We’d add a few pluses to that figure. Horsepower is again estimated, at 340 vs. the IS 300’s 215, but it feels closer to 400. Whatever, the car goes like a whacked cat.
Step on the gas exiting a corner and the rear end steps right on out—not suddenly and dangerously, but it steps, no doubt about it. It didn’t spin during our drive, but a little more time on the throttle in those corners and the powersliding rear would have passed the front. This would be a great car for a smoky tire burnout contest.
The roar from the new intake and exhaust leaves no doubt as to what is underhood and makes being stealthy at stoplights tricky.
It was crazy fun.
Like any prototype, it still needed some tuning, maybe stiffer springs, shocks, antiroll bars—all that black-art setup stuff that eventually balances the engine’s power with the suspension’s ability to get it to the ground. The final drive could be shorter, the throttle more linear, the clutch smoother and engaged lower in the clutch pedal travel. We are not complaining—in a production car those points would all be addressed.
Yes, production. Right now “there is no plan” to produce an IS 430, but there could be. Lexus will sell about 14,000 IS 300s this year, down from 20,000 in 2002. The fact that sales are falling suggests Lexus has to do something to boost interest in the IS.
The purpose of this IS 430 exercise is to get executives in Japan to see the light. Or at least feel the horsepower. Strap them behind the wheel for a few laps and they’ll sign anything. But for such a relatively slow seller, it is tough to argue for an IS 430 as a moneymaker, especially after the high price of getting federal approval for all the components.
“If there isn’t a strong business case, we probably won’t do it,” said Bryan Bergsteinsson, former Lexus chief who now heads up training at Toyota. “But part of this is to have fun, goddammit.”
It was rare in this politically correct era to hear a high-ranking auto executive other than Carroll Shelby say that on a press launch. Like the power of the IS 430, it was refreshingly authentic.
Bergsteinsson went on: “The IS 300 has brought us younger buyers, new buyers. Does every iteration of every car line have to make a business case on its own? We sold more GS 300s because we had the GS 430 in the showroom—it’s the umbrella car for the whole line. You could look at a lot of cars that way. We never would have built the Prius. I would disagree that every car has to make a profit.
“Performance is an important part of the IS makeup. It continues to bring a younger buyer into Lexus.”
And that may be the strongest argument yet. All those kids driving Scions and sport compacts are eventually going to get jobs and start making money, and they will have to move up somewhere. Many of them have already wandered off to BMW. A car like this would keep them in the Lexus/Toyota fold.
So if this is an exercise in getting the attention of Japanese executives, we say, “Hey Japanese executives, build this car!” But maybe that’s just because we want to drive it some more.
Source: Autoweek
12-23-2003, 10:22 AM
#68
Senior Moderator
Uh-Oh, Lexus IS 430
From AutoWeek
Lexus IS 430 prototype
Muscle Car Mania Hits Lexus... Or it might hit Japan, if the home office green-lights the V8-powered IS 430
THE FORMULA IS AS OLD as time.
Okay, it’s as old as the 1964 model year, when John Z. DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee dropped a 389 from the big Bonneville into the smaller Tempest LeMans and created the mighty Pontiac GTO. There are probably earlier examples of this formula but the GTO is the one that gets all the credit. It works because it’s simple—stuff a big engine in a small car, step on the gas and go, leaving a trail of tire smoke.
Now it is Lexus’ turn to apply the formula. Yes, Lexus has gone muscle car. That bastion of muted elegance and understated solemnity wrapped in a cloak of Kaizen is out cruising stoplights looking for fun. The IS 430 is an IS 300 with a big 4.3-liter V8 engine wedged into the relatively small space once occupied by the 3.0-liter straight six.
Two similar cars were done a year ago by Lexus in Germany. Racer-turned-businessman Rod Millen did this project, his fourth for Lexus/Toyota after the Lexus Hot Rod (AW, Sept. 21, 1998), FJ-45 Retro Cruiser (AW, Oct. 18, 1999) and a 500-hp Celica that debuted at the Los Angeles auto show in 2000 (AW, Jan. 17, 2000). Of course there were also Millen’s drives up Pikes Peak in Celicas and Tacomas, the fastest of which still holds the unlimited record of 10:04.
Making the big swap turned out to be far less complicated than you might think. New engine mounts were required, but the engine itself fit without modifying the hood, firewall or any sheetmetal. Only a few peripheral drives had to be remounted. The GS 430’s radiator fit nicely, too. And since the V8 is aluminum and the straight six has an iron block, the two engines weigh almost exactly the same.
With all the changes made to it, the car itself comes in just a little heavier with the V8—3459 pounds vs. the stock car’s 3410 pounds.
The new car has a Supra six-speed manual transmission, which required some modifications to the bellhousing to clamp onto the V8. But the Supra shift lever pokes perfectly through the hole in the transmission hump. Driveshaft and halfshafts come from the GS 430 while the differential is from a Supra.
The hardest part of the engine swap was not mechanical but electronic. “The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body—something it was never designed to do,” said Millen.
Luckily, Rod Millen Motorsports has “a guy who’s really good at that sort of thing,” according to Rod. In reality, Millen’s team of engineers includes Ph.D.s and brainy engineers who spend most of their time working on top-secret projects for the military. Think of Jesse James’ Monster Garage minus the tattoos and piercings and with finite element analysis capability.
The monster IS received other adjustments, too: a more drag-friendly 3.769:1 final drive with a limited-slip differential; 16-way adjustable shocks; big, cross-drilled Brembo ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers; Speed Star SSR 18-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, 225/40R front and 265/35R rear, and with ZR speed ratings; Rhys Millen Racing (Rod’s son) front lip spoiler and side skirts to go with the IS 300 rear spoiler; a Chip Foose black-over-red paint job; and the requisite Mark Levinson stereo, in this case, a 720-watt multichannel system with 20 speakers.
Best of all, it’s a driver, though maybe driver is too tame a word. We got to take the car out at the short, tight Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs, California, and man, oh man. While the balance front and rear is good, all that power in such a light car is just stupid fast, as the kids say. Immediately upon flooring the gas you feel torque that seems about twice that of the IS 300. Millen estimates it is 300-plus lb-ft vs. the IS 300’s 218. We’d add a few pluses to that figure. Horsepower is again estimated, at 340 vs. the IS 300’s 215, but it feels closer to 400. Whatever, the car goes like a whacked cat.
Step on the gas exiting a corner and the rear end steps right on out—not suddenly and dangerously, but it steps, no doubt about it. It didn’t spin during our drive, but a little more time on the throttle in those corners and the powersliding rear would have passed the front. This would be a great car for a smoky tire burnout contest.
The roar from the new intake and exhaust leaves no doubt as to what is underhood and makes being stealthy at stoplights tricky.
It was crazy fun.
Like any prototype, it still needed some tuning, maybe stiffer springs, shocks, antiroll bars—all that black-art setup stuff that eventually balances the engine’s power with the suspension’s ability to get it to the ground. The final drive could be shorter, the throttle more linear, the clutch smoother and engaged lower in the clutch pedal travel. We are not complaining—in a production car those points would all be addressed.
Yes, production. Right now “there is no plan” to produce an IS 430, but there could be. Lexus will sell about 14,000 IS 300s this year, down from 20,000 in 2002. The fact that sales are falling suggests Lexus has to do something to boost interest in the IS.
The purpose of this IS 430 exercise is to get executives in Japan to see the light. Or at least feel the horsepower. Strap them behind the wheel for a few laps and they’ll sign anything. But for such a relatively slow seller, it is tough to argue for an IS 430 as a moneymaker, especially after the high price of getting federal approval for all the components.
“If there isn’t a strong business case, we probably won’t do it,” said Bryan Bergsteinsson, former Lexus chief who now heads up training at Toyota. “But part of this is to have fun, goddammit.”
It was rare in this politically correct era to hear a high-ranking auto executive other than Carroll Shelby say that on a press launch. Like the power of the IS 430, it was refreshingly authentic.
Bergsteinsson went on: “The IS 300 has brought us younger buyers, new buyers. Does every iteration of every car line have to make a business case on its own? We sold more GS 300s because we had the GS 430 in the showroom—it’s the umbrella car for the whole line. You could look at a lot of cars that way. We never would have built the Prius. I would disagree that every car has to make a profit.
“Performance is an important part of the IS makeup. It continues to bring a younger buyer into Lexus.”
And that may be the strongest argument yet. All those kids driving Scions and sport compacts are eventually going to get jobs and start making money, and they will have to move up somewhere. Many of them have already wandered off to BMW. A car like this would keep them in the Lexus/Toyota fold.
So if this is an exercise in getting the attention of Japanese executives, we say, “Hey Japanese executives, build this car!” But maybe that’s just because we want to drive it some more.
Estimated 340HP with a weight of 3459. It should go like stink.
Lexus IS 430 prototype
Muscle Car Mania Hits Lexus... Or it might hit Japan, if the home office green-lights the V8-powered IS 430
THE FORMULA IS AS OLD as time.
Okay, it’s as old as the 1964 model year, when John Z. DeLorean, Bill Collins and Russ Gee dropped a 389 from the big Bonneville into the smaller Tempest LeMans and created the mighty Pontiac GTO. There are probably earlier examples of this formula but the GTO is the one that gets all the credit. It works because it’s simple—stuff a big engine in a small car, step on the gas and go, leaving a trail of tire smoke.
Now it is Lexus’ turn to apply the formula. Yes, Lexus has gone muscle car. That bastion of muted elegance and understated solemnity wrapped in a cloak of Kaizen is out cruising stoplights looking for fun. The IS 430 is an IS 300 with a big 4.3-liter V8 engine wedged into the relatively small space once occupied by the 3.0-liter straight six.
Two similar cars were done a year ago by Lexus in Germany. Racer-turned-businessman Rod Millen did this project, his fourth for Lexus/Toyota after the Lexus Hot Rod (AW, Sept. 21, 1998), FJ-45 Retro Cruiser (AW, Oct. 18, 1999) and a 500-hp Celica that debuted at the Los Angeles auto show in 2000 (AW, Jan. 17, 2000). Of course there were also Millen’s drives up Pikes Peak in Celicas and Tacomas, the fastest of which still holds the unlimited record of 10:04.
Making the big swap turned out to be far less complicated than you might think. New engine mounts were required, but the engine itself fit without modifying the hood, firewall or any sheetmetal. Only a few peripheral drives had to be remounted. The GS 430’s radiator fit nicely, too. And since the V8 is aluminum and the straight six has an iron block, the two engines weigh almost exactly the same.
With all the changes made to it, the car itself comes in just a little heavier with the V8—3459 pounds vs. the stock car’s 3410 pounds.
The new car has a Supra six-speed manual transmission, which required some modifications to the bellhousing to clamp onto the V8. But the Supra shift lever pokes perfectly through the hole in the transmission hump. Driveshaft and halfshafts come from the GS 430 while the differential is from a Supra.
The hardest part of the engine swap was not mechanical but electronic. “The larger challenge was to develop an electronic interface that would allow the V8 engine to work with the manual transmission and IS 300 body—something it was never designed to do,” said Millen.
Luckily, Rod Millen Motorsports has “a guy who’s really good at that sort of thing,” according to Rod. In reality, Millen’s team of engineers includes Ph.D.s and brainy engineers who spend most of their time working on top-secret projects for the military. Think of Jesse James’ Monster Garage minus the tattoos and piercings and with finite element analysis capability.
The monster IS received other adjustments, too: a more drag-friendly 3.769:1 final drive with a limited-slip differential; 16-way adjustable shocks; big, cross-drilled Brembo ventilated disc brakes with four-piston calipers; Speed Star SSR 18-inch wheels wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires, 225/40R front and 265/35R rear, and with ZR speed ratings; Rhys Millen Racing (Rod’s son) front lip spoiler and side skirts to go with the IS 300 rear spoiler; a Chip Foose black-over-red paint job; and the requisite Mark Levinson stereo, in this case, a 720-watt multichannel system with 20 speakers.
Best of all, it’s a driver, though maybe driver is too tame a word. We got to take the car out at the short, tight Streets of Willow track at Willow Springs, California, and man, oh man. While the balance front and rear is good, all that power in such a light car is just stupid fast, as the kids say. Immediately upon flooring the gas you feel torque that seems about twice that of the IS 300. Millen estimates it is 300-plus lb-ft vs. the IS 300’s 218. We’d add a few pluses to that figure. Horsepower is again estimated, at 340 vs. the IS 300’s 215, but it feels closer to 400. Whatever, the car goes like a whacked cat.
Step on the gas exiting a corner and the rear end steps right on out—not suddenly and dangerously, but it steps, no doubt about it. It didn’t spin during our drive, but a little more time on the throttle in those corners and the powersliding rear would have passed the front. This would be a great car for a smoky tire burnout contest.
The roar from the new intake and exhaust leaves no doubt as to what is underhood and makes being stealthy at stoplights tricky.
It was crazy fun.
Like any prototype, it still needed some tuning, maybe stiffer springs, shocks, antiroll bars—all that black-art setup stuff that eventually balances the engine’s power with the suspension’s ability to get it to the ground. The final drive could be shorter, the throttle more linear, the clutch smoother and engaged lower in the clutch pedal travel. We are not complaining—in a production car those points would all be addressed.
Yes, production. Right now “there is no plan” to produce an IS 430, but there could be. Lexus will sell about 14,000 IS 300s this year, down from 20,000 in 2002. The fact that sales are falling suggests Lexus has to do something to boost interest in the IS.
The purpose of this IS 430 exercise is to get executives in Japan to see the light. Or at least feel the horsepower. Strap them behind the wheel for a few laps and they’ll sign anything. But for such a relatively slow seller, it is tough to argue for an IS 430 as a moneymaker, especially after the high price of getting federal approval for all the components.
“If there isn’t a strong business case, we probably won’t do it,” said Bryan Bergsteinsson, former Lexus chief who now heads up training at Toyota. “But part of this is to have fun, goddammit.”
It was rare in this politically correct era to hear a high-ranking auto executive other than Carroll Shelby say that on a press launch. Like the power of the IS 430, it was refreshingly authentic.
Bergsteinsson went on: “The IS 300 has brought us younger buyers, new buyers. Does every iteration of every car line have to make a business case on its own? We sold more GS 300s because we had the GS 430 in the showroom—it’s the umbrella car for the whole line. You could look at a lot of cars that way. We never would have built the Prius. I would disagree that every car has to make a profit.
“Performance is an important part of the IS makeup. It continues to bring a younger buyer into Lexus.”
And that may be the strongest argument yet. All those kids driving Scions and sport compacts are eventually going to get jobs and start making money, and they will have to move up somewhere. Many of them have already wandered off to BMW. A car like this would keep them in the Lexus/Toyota fold.
So if this is an exercise in getting the attention of Japanese executives, we say, “Hey Japanese executives, build this car!” But maybe that’s just because we want to drive it some more.
Estimated 340HP with a weight of 3459. It should go like stink.
12-23-2003, 10:22 AM
#69
GEEZER
sweet car...but that body style is TIRED, IMO
12-23-2003, 11:13 AM
#73
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Originally posted by DEVO
All this is going to do... is get Honda to get their act together and create a V8!
All this is going to do... is get Honda to get their act together and create a V8!
12-23-2003, 01:12 PM
#77
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Originally posted by hondaloyalist
V8's SUCK
Honda technology can make a better V-6 more efficient and powerful than a V-8
V8's SUCK
Honda technology can make a better V-6 more efficient and powerful than a V-8
12-23-2003, 01:20 PM
#79
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Yea, but the point is that I6 owning IS300 owners have something related to that monster that they can feel some relation to.. like the M3 for BMW. Acura doesn't have that (but they should).
12-23-2003, 01:22 PM
#80
Originally posted by jcg878
Maybe, but try your argument with some guys at a bar and see who wins. THAT'S why they need a V8.
Maybe, but try your argument with some guys at a bar and see who wins. THAT'S why they need a V8.
But seriously, I'd love to see Honda make a V-8 just to shut everyone up. At least then, all they can complain about is "yeah, but the V-8 is in _______, it should be in the Civic as well" instead of "Honda doesn't have the testicles to make a V-8."
