2004 Lexus Rx 330 on 2040-cars

Auto blog

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.

This one-off Lexus RC F takes a page out of an NBA playbook

We talk about one automaker taking a page out of another's playbook – following a lead to keep up with the competition. But this one-of-a-kind Lexus actually does take a page out of a playbook. Specifically that of the Los Angeles Clippers. The unique Lexus RC F coupe features a livery inspired by the team colors and emblazoned in tone-on-tone Xs and squiggles that look like strategic doodles from the coach's notebook. The stock horn has been replaced by a shot buzzer, the dashboard clock with a game timer, basketball-patterned speaker grilles, and Clippers logos throughout. The navigation system is voiced by the team's coach Doc Rivers, and there's a makeshift locker room in the trunk packed with memorabilia. As far as special editions go, this one's actually pretty convincing. Of course it doesn't hurt to pack a 5.0-liter V8 engine good for 467 horsepower under the hood. The vehicle was created to raise funds for the Clippers Foundation, a charity associated with the basketball team that works with children in the Los Angeles area. For $100, fans can buy raffle tickets for the chance to take it home. Toyota has long been a sponsor of the team, briefly suspending its involvement in the wake of then-owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks a couple of years ago. Related Video:

8 things you should know about the Lexus LC 500h powertrain

Lexus unveiled the LC 500h today in The Netherlands, and I got to take a look inside its new hybrid system. On one hand it seems like a box of magic – it combines two seemingly incompatible transmission types into one package. But that's also the ingenious simplicity of the thing. We don't have all of the details on how it all works yet, but here's a rundown of the high points.Efficient business in front, low-key party in the back. What makes it all work is the mullet of transmissions. For the new hybrid transmission, Lexus used the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive/Lexus Hybrid System – which consists of an e-CVT with a planetary gearset and two electric motors (one for charging the battery, the other for motivation and regen) – and grafted a conventional four-speed automatic onto the back. The two units actually coexist in one package, with the e-CVT making things efficient and the automatic expanding the capabilities. So at the low end, the system can deliver more torque, and the engine can also run at lower rpm on the highway. It's all thanks to those fixed gear ratios, and it's surprisingly simple.Except it's not that simple. This is where the virtual gear ratios come in. Like current Lexus hybrids, the system has ratios it can call up with the e-CVT. In this case, there are six virtual ratios to complement the four real physical ratios, for a total of 10 "gears" at the transmission's disposal. (Not coincidentally, the V8 LC 500 coupe has a 10-speed automatic.) One of the four fixed gears is always engaged when the car is moving, so the 10 ratios come about from combinations of what the e-CVT in front and the automatic in the back are doing. In other words, all 10 ratios are variations on the four fixed gear ratios, which means that all 10 gears could be considered virtual.It won't use all the gears all the time. In Eco mode, the car will start off on electric power and skip the first couple of "gears." When it's set to Sport or Sport +, the engine will be engaged from a stop and the transmission will select the lowest ratio. The sportier modes will also ignore the top couple of gear ratios.It can drive faster with the engine off. In a Lexus GS 450h with the Lexus Hybrid System, for example, at speeds above 62 mph or so the engine has to start up. This is because something needs to take up some slack from the battery-charging motor-generator or else it will start spinning too quickly.