2009 2dr Conv Used 4.3l V8 32v Automatic Rwd Convertible Premium on 2040-cars

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2015 Lexus RC F

I didn't get a chance to drive the Lexus IS F until 2009, two years after the car had gone on sale, but I still vividly remember the day it happened. Having piloted almost every other vehicle in the Lexus lineup at that point, I was stoked to finally get some wheel time in the V8-powered, flared-fender muscle sedan, but fully expected the car to offer a quick, sanitized and ultimately un-driverly experience. Lexus built well-screwed-together, comfortable, quiet, reliable luxury cars for the timid, right?
As it turned out, I was 100-percent incorrect. When the premium brand's lauded "skunkworks team" crammed that massive V8 into the innocent IS, and then tuned the thing for competent hot laps at Fuji Speedway (F = Fuji, if you haven't heard), they seemingly forgot every brand value that Lexus had curated over the previous 20 years. It was raw and loud, had fast-twitch reflexes and a penchant for power slides, and it went unyieldingly across the road surface like a racecar cut loose from the paddock.
As far as Ur- models and origin stories go, the IS F and Lexus F has a pretty compelling, if new, set. A backdrop against which the sequel, this 2015 RC F, must inevitably be viewed. Sure, the otherworldly LFA may have intervened as the second F model, but the RC carries forward an evolution of the 5.0-liter V8 thumper, some shared body and chassis constructions, similar in-your-face design and a ticket price that's squarely in the mix for premium buyers with a hankering to smoke tires.

Lexus gives Jay Leno a shot at driving its 2014 IS

After we drove a prototype of the 2014 Lexus IS, we were told that Lexus was shipping it back to Japan. As it turns out, late-night funnyman Jay Leno was already in the motherland with the coming sport sedan, and he lapped it around Fuji Motor Speedway with Chief Engineer Junichi Furuyama.
This was probably during his LFA drive two months ago, actually, when Furuyama-san was even more tight-lipped about the IS than he was a week ago, so Leno has to make the best guesses he can. Leno goes over the whole car, then takes it out for a casual spin, so at least you get to see it in action. As for Jay's take, you'll just have to watch the video below to find out.

Lexus launching new Crafted Line special editions at Pebble Beach

Over the course of the past 25 years, Lexus has done one heck of a job winding its way into the luxury automobile market previously dominated by the Germans. And now it aims to take another step into the luxury arena with The Crafted Line by Lexus.
Set to debut at Pebble Beach later this month, the Crafted line offers the Storm Trooper treatment with high-contrast white paint and black trim. The interiors are done up in two-tone black and red, and Tumi has done up a special set of luggage to match.
The special edition will be available on the ES350 as well as the F Sport versions of the LS460, GS350, IS250 (in both rear- and all-wheel drive) and RX350 AWD. Each will be limited to around 1,000 examples (give or take, depending on the model), with pricing set to start at around $42,000 for the ES pictured above. Scope out the full details in the press release below.