2017 Lexus Rx Awd on 2040-cars

Auto blog

This is what a Lexus RC-based 'four-door coupe' might look like

It feels like there is a secret law in Germany mandating that every domestic automaker there must offer at least one model with a four-door coupe bodystyle like the BMW Gran Coupes, Mercedes-Benz CLS and Audi A7. Several of the German brands even have the swoopy sedans in multiple sizes. So far, Lexus has stayed out of that fray, but maybe not for long, if a recently spotted test car makes it to market.
The brand is known to be testing a highly styled four-door coupe, roughly the size of the GS, under heavy camouflage. Little is known about the new model at the moment, but its existence makes sense. If it really wants to take the on Germans, Lexus is going to have to fight them toe-to-toe with competing models - especially with ones understood to have high margins.
Pictured above is a rendering from artist Theophilus Chin imagining a slightly smaller take on the genre based on the RC coupe, which he calls the RC GT. His design leaves the original shape almost untouched, but shortens the front doors to allow room for a rear doors under the arching roof. His GT would be aimed more against the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and rumored Mercedes-Benz C-Class four-door coupe, rather than the larger models Lexus actually appears to be targeting with its vehicle under development. His concept certainly nails the look, though, and while it might not have a basis in reality, we thought that it's well-resolved enough that you'd want to take a look, if only as a "what could've been" flight of fancy.

Lexus IS F Sport Blackline Edition embraces the darkness

Darkness continues to descend on all corners of the automobile market, and that includes Lexus, where the 2020 IS F Sport goes dark with the Blackline Edition. In contrast to last year's IS 300 F Sport Black Line Edition, the 2020 Blackline Edition (now one word) can be had as either an IS 300 or an IS 350. Once again, the package contains dark-finish split-spoke 18-inch wheels, a similar dark-chrome grille surround, and black mirror caps. This year's color choices are Obsidian (black), Ultra White, or Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0 — the latter replacing last year's silver. The interior features black and gray Nuluxe (synthetic leather), this time with Indigo Blue accents rather than red. Lexus also tosses in triple-beam LED headlights, navigation, blind-spot monitoring, a heated wood-rimmed steering wheel, and a SmartAccess card key. Powertrains are the same as in the standard IS F Sports. The IS 300 with rear-wheel drive uses a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four making 241 horsepower, while the all-wheel-drive IS 300 gets a 260-hp 3.5-liter V6. The IS 350 models, both FWD and AWD, have a more potent, 311-hp version of the naturally aspirated 3.5-liter six. Prices range from $46,225 to $52,010 (with destination fee). The 2020 IS F Sport Blackline Edition joins the recently announced NX 300 Black Line Edition in a darkened corner of the showroom, where the two models can argue about the spelling of their name.  

Japanese dealer petitioning Lexus for luxury van [w/poll]

Used to be that if you wanted a luxury automobile - especially one to be chauffeured around in - your choices were basically limited to a sedan. It could be bigger or smaller, more or less expensive, depending on your needs and budget, but it was always going to have four doors and a trunk. But these days the rich and famous are looking elsewhere for their commodious forms of pampering transportation. There are, of course, the crossovers and SUVs, which only seem to be getting bigger and more expensive thanks to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, Range Rover L and upcoming Bentley sport-ute. But luxury vans are becoming the new big thing.
That's the point that one dealer in Japan is trying to make to Toyota. The dealership owner himself reasons that if he's going out on the town, he's likely to take his chauffeured Lexus LS. But if he's taking a few friends along, even the biggest sedan isn't going to cut it. So he takes a Toyota Alphard (pictured above, also known as the Vellfire), a JDM van that's even bigger than a Voxy/Noah or Sienna but hardly a high-end affair. That's why he's asking Lexus to make a luxury van.
The idea may seem a little far-fetched, but isn't without precedent. It didn't take much for Lexus to transform the Land Cruiser into the LX and thus create its first luxury SUV. And as Mercedes has shown with pimped-out versions of the Sprinter and now with the debut of the new V-Class in Geneva, there's clearly a market for it... in some countries, anyway. The only question in our minds is how long it's going to take other luxury automakers to catch on, because let's face it: the Chrysler Town & Country ain't gonna cut it for those used to be driven around in a Maybach.