Lexus Sends a V8 Message
If you're staying up nights wondering what will become of the Lexus IS sport sedan, then maybe after your brand-new life arrives from Amazon.com, you should keep an eye on what happens with a V8-powered IS 430 sedan that's been making the auto-show and TV rounds this year. Why? For one, it's nice. Just lovely. For two, we're willing to wager that Lexus has an eye on V8 power for the next generation of IS vehicles, which are supposed to come down through the product pipeline in 2006. (We're also willing to wager how long Martha Stewart fights off the urge before she's folding some other con's prison laundry: Write us at P.O. Box 1999, Leavenworth, KS.)
The Lexus V8 concept proves that BMW and Benz aren't the only luxury brands interested in shredding some tread. The Lexus chiefs are calling it a real muscle car, despite the pair of rear doors. But no knocks can be applied to its performance credentials, which begin with the Lexus 4.3-liter V8 that comes from the LS sedan, the SC convertible and the GS sedans. With 340 horsepower, it easily outclasses the 215-hp in-line six found in the stock IS. But fitting into the compact sedan was better left to specialists in hot-rodding factory-spec vehicles.Lexus turned to Rod Millen Special Vehicles to figure out a way to wedge the engine into the IS' bay. The conversion wasn't simple-imagine trying to stuff a V8 into an overhead bin on a 767 and you've got the idea-and some of the drivetrain pieces needed beefing up. In the end the IS 430 uses a Getrag six-speed manual shifter, a stronger limited-slip differential and various GS pieces, along with a bunch of handmade components like new steel exhaust headers, new electronics, engine and gearbox mounts and a new air intake system and a GS 430 radiator for ample cooling.
Underneath the tuning team threw out the springs and shocks from the stock IS 300 and installed TEIN springs and 16-way electronically adjustable shocks, keeping the front suspension components and borrowing liberally from the GS' rear setup to give the IS 430 a chance at maintaining neutral handling with all that power. Latching it to the road are 18-inch Michelin Sport Cup tires shod on Speed Star SSR alloys, and hauling it down from speed are vented and cross-drilled, four-piston Brembo brakes.
And when it comes to stylin' the IS 430 gets a full Chip Foose set of outerwear: front and rear spoilers, side skirts, two-tone red and black paint, a mesh grille and dual exhausts. Inside's a raft of entertainment equipment sure to satisfy even those with attention deficits and pixel fetishes. The audio system's by Mark Levinson and sports 720 watts of surround sound, 20 speakers and a DVD player with its own 6.5-inch screen for on-road movie time.
One-offs like the IS 430 don't often get this big a push from the automakers themselves-which leads us to believe that some serious performance upgrades are in the offing for the IS series. Until then, it's a damn fast inspiration to tuning your own M3 fighter.
Volta: Supercars Go Hybrid
The notion of hybrid vehicles might still make you feel a little self-conscious-I mean, who wants to be hangin' with Ed Begley Jr. all the time? However, the Volta hybrid concept could change the equation. Toyota is hellbent on making hybrids a household word, and the Italdesign concept (named for the physicist who invented the battery and also lends his name to the volt) puts the notion of a hybrid supercar out there in the universe, and, well, Toyota doesn't do many concepts that don't lead to production ideas. The Volta shares the Hybrid Synergy Drive system with the upcoming RX 400h SUV, which means a 3.3-liter V6 gas engine and a strong electric motor. Here, it's worth a total of 408 horsepower, good enough to put the Volta to the 60-mph mark in about four seconds. Inside the Volta, three passengers sit side by side-it can because there's no driveshaft and thus no "hump boy" seat to be avoided.