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Lexus LF-LC GT ready to hit Gran Turismo

Lexus might not have as rich a motorsport history as its parent company Toyota does, but it's not been without its racing activities – fielding the LFA in the VLN series at the Nurburgring and powering Daytona Prototypes in American endurance racing, but especially in Japan's own Super GT touring car series. That's where it recently rolled out the RC F GT500 is to replace the aging SC430, fighting for the championship last season right up to the bitter end. And this year it will bring a similar version of the RC F to GT3 racing as well. But before it does, the Japanese automaker has given us another racing machine to lust over – only this one is just for the virtual reality of Gran Turismo 6. Following the two teaser images that previewed its reveal, Polyphony Digital (the studio behind the Gran Turismo franchise) has revealed the new Lexus LF-LC GT. The latest in the Vision Gran Turismo series of virtual racers, the Lexus concept starts with the LF-LC show car revealed at the Detroit Auto Show back in 2012, but applies to it some of the same queues as the aforementioned RC F racer. The bodywork melds into extended aprons to keep the car glued to the digital track, there's a side-exit exhaust, carbon hood and roof, a giant rear wing, gargantuan diffuser and lightweight alloys on racing slicks. It's even got the rainbow-swirled white paint job of the RC F GT3 concept. Technical details weren't released, but then this concept wasn't designed to hit any real road or track any time in the near future, anyway. Related Video:

10 automakers sued over keyless ignitions

Keyless ignition has rapidly proliferated throughout the auto industry to become a fairly normal feature on new cars. It's supposed to offer the convenience of keeping the fob in your pocket and just pressing a button to drive away. However, ten major automakers are now being sued in US District Court over claims that the system is dangerous, Reuters reports. The suit alleges that people are forgetting to shut off the engine, and the lack of an idle timer is the cause for 13 deaths by carbon monoxide poisoning and multiple injuries. The suit currently includes 28 plaintiffs, according to Reuters, but the lawyers are asking for class-action status to potentially add many more. The case goes after a major swath of the industry, including BMW, Daimler, FCA, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Nissan, Toyota, and Volkswagen, plus their related brands like Acura, Infiniti, Mini, and Lexus. In all, over five million vehicles are affected. The assertion here is that people walk away from their vehicle without shutting it off because they believe the engine shuts off automatically. If parked in a garage, carbon monoxide can build up, leading to poisoning. The lawyers claim automakers know this is a problem and also cite 27 complaints to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about the issue, according to Reuters. The plaintiffs are asking for an automatic shut-off and damages from the companies. These concerns have come up before, though. Toyota previously faced a lawsuit over a carbon monoxide death after a woman accidentally left her Lexus running. Also earlier this year, GM recalled 64,186 examples of the 2011-2013 Chevrolet Volt because owners weren't shutting them off. The problem resulted in two injuries, and the company released a software update to limit the idling time.

TMG still developing Lexus LS Sports 650 [w/video]

If you're going to make a super sedan, you'd better do it in Germany. That's where Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz do it, along with third parties like Alpina, Brabus and G-Power, among others. Deutschland is the epicenter of the movement, regularly churning out the most powerful four-door rockets in the world. It's also where one of the racing divisions for Toyota has been hard at work on the TMG Sports 650.
Toyota Motorsport GmbH started with a Lexus LS and turned it into a 641-horsepower, twin-turbocharged super sedan it revealed late last year at the Essen Motor Show. But though we haven't heard much about it since then, the team behind Toyota's F1 and Le Mans efforts are apparently still hard at work on the project.
Speaking with Lexus' own UK blog, TMG chief Alastair Moffitt revealed that the project started way back in 2010, shortly after Toyota shut down its F1 program and left the racing team with nothing to do. The 5.0-liter twin-turbo V8 was initially producing as much as 800 horsepower, but has since been refined to 650 so that it could theoretically be put into production and onto the road.