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Lexus RC F sets the pace Down Under

A few months back we reported that Lexus was considering competing in V8 Supercars, Australia's premier touring-car series. And while it might not be ready to launch a campaign of its own, the Japanese luxury automaker has done the next-best thing. Starting this season, the Lexus RC F will serve as the series' official safety car. The eight-cylinder muscle coupe appears to be mechanically unmodified, as it is apparently suitable to the task right out of the showroom. It has, however, been enhanced with a special livery, emergency lighting and an interior likely to have been upgraded with bucket seats, racing harnesses, a roll cage and emergency equipment. The RC F safety car will be joined by an IS 350 F Sport that'll serve as the medical car and another GS 350 F Sport support vehicle, giving Lexus a strong presence on the circuit Down Under and potentially paving the way for a competitive assault on the series in the near future. Aussie racing fans can expect to see the trio on the track starting with the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide later this month. It won't be the first time we've seen Lexus provide a safety car in Australia, but it's a definite step up in profile from the GS 350 that has served for the past few years at the same Sydney Motorsport Park where this trio was launched. 06 February 2015 LEXUS ROARS INTO V8 SUPERCARS WITH RC F SAFETY CAR The Lexus high powered performance RC F coupe will feature as V8 Supercars' official Safety Car in 2015 as part of a new partnership between the Japanese luxury marque and V8 Supercars, Australia's premier motorsport series. A Lexus GS 350 F Sport and an IS 350 F Sport will also be on track as the championship's official course and medical cars as part of the new agreement. The RC F, which is equipped with a 5.0-litre V8 that produces 351kW of power and 530Nm of torque, will feature at each of the 15 V8 Supercars Championship events in 2015 alongside the GS 350 F Sport and IS 350 F Sport. Lexus Australia chief executive Sean Hanley said the partnership with V8 Supercars was a fitting match for the brand. "V8 Supercars is the world's leading touring car series and our involvement as supplier of vehicles reflects the new energy in our brand and our dynamic model lines," Mr Hanley said.

Major Alexa deal will bring Amazon services into more cars

Amazon and its personal assistance service Alexa are partnering with HERE Technologies to create a new connected mobility service powerhouse. Alexa will integrate with HERE's navigation and location services to offer what the two companies are calling a "true voice-first-navigation experience." Alexa will come pre-integrated with HERE navigation on-demand, which the automakers can then enable, which should help cut down on development time. One of the biggest features from this partnership is how directions could be offered and delivered using HERE's Open Location Platform (OLP). Currently, the OLP uses data from several car manufacturers to provide insights into real-time location and traffic. But on Alexa, this could be used to provide directional context. For example, Alexa could say, "Turn right after [such-and-such a building]" rather than just, "Turn right." Amazon has been testing the automotive waters throughout the past decade. Its home-based Alexa-enabled devices are already offered with connections to several manufacturers. To various degrees of integration, it can already pair with Ford, Genesis, Toyota, Lexus, Hyundai and BMW vehicles. At the end of 2018, Amazon took things a step further when it introduced the Echo Auto, a Bluetooth-connected Alexa assistant device that can be physically kept in a car. Currently only available by invitation (its production and distribution have been delayed), the $25 device is essentially a voice service that works together with smartphones and connects to a car's speakers. Users can command it to do a variety of things, including playing music, setting navigation, opening the garage door, finding local stores, making calls, setting reminders, and thousands of other "skills." According to The Verge, nearly 1 million people have already ordered the device. Some (well, probably few) may know HERE Technologies from its maps on Windows Phones. We all know how that turned out, though. Today, HERE has expanded into a multi-function suite that is available in multiple mediums, including many automotive applications. HERE Automotive's connected vehicle services include real-time traffic, parking, weather, fuel prices, hazard warnings, traffic sign integration, and even EV charging stations. These all incorporate and extend the use of HERE's location and tracking programming. HERE is already partnered with BMW, Audi, Daimler, Intel, Mobileye, NVIDIA, and has investments from Bosch, Continental and Pioneer.

Flower petal-covered Lexus UX 250h wins art car competition

We confess not to know the first thing about art, so perhaps we don't quite get why anyone would want to cover every inch of a Lexus UX250h with flower petals. It's not as if it's an easy thing to do. But not only has someone done it, the resulting car has actually won an art car competition sponsored by the luxury marque. Without the flower petals, the Lexus UX is actually a pretty sharp looking compact premium crossover. It wears the Lexus design language with its many crsip creases and angled lines better than most of its fellow L-badgers. In fact, we can think of others whose sheetmetal would look better under a veil of paper blossoms. The winning entry, created by a design outfit called Clap Studio out of Valencia, Spain, beat five other Lexus UX art cars to win the contest. It took artists Jordi Iranzo and Angela Montagud a month to attach the thousands of paper cutouts to the body. "Our concept is a Zen garden that represents a state of mind: calm, pure consciousness,” they explained. The duo also point out that the car looks very different depending on the light, as the petals reflect and cast shadows in varying directions. Other entrants included more traditional art cars, with elaborate paint jobs, textures, or random objects affixed to them. At least one appeared to be covered in actual, not abstract, flora. Only the winning proposal was actually built, it seems, so in real life only one UX was defiled (or beautified, depending on your taste). Again, we don't know much about art. Related video: