2008 Lexus Rx350 Base Sport Utility 4-door 3.5l on 2040-cars

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Here are this year's top 5 automaker April Fools’ jokes

April 1 is the wonderful day when PR departments really push themselves to top the zany jokes they came up with the previous year. And it's not just fast-food chains competing with each other, or breweries announcing they have released stuff like a fermented herring flavored beer: carmakers' media teams rarely miss out on the opportunity to play a little joke on their audience. Here are a few of our favorites from this year:1) Porsche Porsche announced that it's launching a Mission E tractor, styled to resemble its 1950s tractor models. "With a power output in excess of 700hp, the Mission E Tractor will be the fastest accelerating agricultural vehicle in the world, enabling farmers to harvest crops in record time with the added environmental benefits of zero emissions at source and significantly reduced operating noise."2) Lexus Lexus actually jumped the gun, telling us on March 28 that it's combining cars and drivers using DNA matching. The kicker was that with DNA-matched cars, owners would be able to start their Lexuses by licking the steering wheel.3) McLaren Automotive McLaren said it's boosting efficiency by quite eccentric measures, such as measuring the technology center's lake and floor tiles daily, and by synchronizing the staff's tea breaks.4) BMW Motorrad BMW's motorcycle arm is solving parts availability issues in remote locations by offering a 3D printer mounted permanently on the bike's rack: If you need to replace a broken-off gear lever, you can just print one. "The new system will mean that even very rarely required parts not generally stocked by BMW Motorrad sales partners can be supplied on a just-in-time basis." BMW even went to the lengths of announcing that the "BMW Motorrad iPart 3D Mobile Printer" was tested on the Antarctic, by erecting a tent whose poles were produced onsite.5) Honda Last but not least, Honda UK purportedly cut the roof off a new CR-V, calling it the CR-V Roadster. Tellingly, no convertible top was even offered for the concept, "making it a no-top rather than a drop-top. This innovative design makes it a vehicle purely for sunnier climates and therefore completely useless for the two-day British summer which traditionally occurs in May."Related Video: Featured Gallery Top 5 April Fools 2018 Image Credit: Porsche Green Humor Weird Car News BMW Honda Lexus McLaren Porsche bmw motorrad mclaren automotive

Hardcore Lexus RC F spied along with facelifted model

The Lexus LC F isn't the only high-performance Lexus spied testing. Another of our spy photographers caught a hardcore version of the RC F sports coupe out testing with its more mild-mannered sibling, the latter of which was trying to hide its mild facelift. Of the two cars, the RC F is the more interesting for a couple of reasons, and not just because it will be the faster of the two. First of all, it looks like this RC F will be significantly lighter than the current model. The weight savings will likely come mainly from new carbon fiber panels that include the bare carbon hood and roof panel. It's possible Lexus will have found some other areas to save weight, but these parts are all we can see at the moment. The other reason this RC F is grabbing our attention is the impossible-to-miss rear wing. Its tall supports, large size and bold end plates signal that this is more of a track car than just a fast road car. Whether it delivers track-car levels of downforce has yet to be seen. The fixed wing is also likely lighter than the power-retractable one on the regular RC F. Another performance upgrade we can see are the giant cross-drilled brakes. One of the big mysteries of this car is of course whether Lexus will have upgraded the powertrain to match the other upgrades. We're not getting our hopes up. Lexus only has two versions of the 5.0-liter V8 (that we know of): the RC F version that makes 467 horsepower, and the LC 500 version that makes 471 horsepower. We could see Lexus using the slightly hotter LC version, but likely nothing new. Part of what leads us to think that is the RC F GT Concept Lexus built for Pikes Peak a few years ago. That car got loads of light parts, a roll cage and a wide body kit, but it had just the same 467-horsepower V8 as any other RC F. View 15 Photos As for the other RC on display in these spy shots, it gives us a solid look at the coupe's upcoming midcycle refresh. Interestingly, it appears Lexus has abandoned the split lights that had the Nike "Swoosh" style running lights. Now everything is integrated into single units. The outboard grilles now have more prominent strakes in them, and there's now a small grille or air inlet at the base of the main grille. Around at the back, there are almost no changes that we can see through the camouflage. Only a possible extension of the diffuser between the rear reflectors is all that shows through.

Lexus considering V8 Supercars racing program

Just a few years ago, Holden and Ford were the only manufacturers competing in Australia's V8 Supercars series. But those days were left long ago in a cloud of smoke on the track, and are only disappearing even further in the rearview mirror as the latest intel suggests Lexus could be ready to enter the series as well. Speaking with CarAdvice.com.au at the local launch of the RC coupe, Lexus Australia chief Sean Hanley revealed that his office approached the race organizers to hold "very high-level discussions" about the Japanese luxury brand entering the series. The development is reportedly spurred by the warm reception the RC has enjoyed so far Down Under, and by an expected impending shift in the rules of the V8 Supercars championship. The series has been rumored to be shifting away from strictly eight-cylinder sedans to include coupes and other engine types – a move that would open the door to more manufacturers to participate, including Lexus with the RC F. Currently the field is made up of Holden Commodores, Ford Falcons, Nissan Altimas, Volvo S60s and privately-entered Mercedes E63 AMGs. Nissan, Volvo and Mercedes only joined in the past couple of seasons following the last round of rules changes. The series received "international" status from the FIA in 2011and in the past few seasons has held races in locations as far flung as Abu Dhabi and Texas to its principally Australia-based calendar. Lexus, for its part, has competed in Grand-Am, Germany's Nurburgring-based VLN series and Japan's Super GT series, but unlike parent company Toyota, has yet to embark upon a top-level racing program in Formula One, the World Rally Championship or at Le Mans.