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Lexus shows off gaming-themed IS built with input from Twitch community

Lexus has revealed the 2021 "Gamers' IS," which was built in collaboration with the Twitch community as an "ultimate gaming space." Based on a 2021 IS 350 F Sport, the Gamers' IS looks every bit the part of a crowdsourced promotion, with every element chosen by community vote.  "The Twitch community dives headfirst into their passion of gaming, just as we did in designing the new 2021 Lexus IS as a pure expression of a sports sedan," said Vinay Shahani, vice president of marketing at Lexus. "We asked for their help designing their dream gaming space, and they answered in spades. Together, we created the ultimate fusion of design and performance in automotive and gaming." This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The interior design is based around a theme called "Neon Tokyo," which, yep, that's what that looks like. An acrylic layer was added to the cabin ceiling with resin rain drops formed into it. Backlit with RGB LEDs, the ceiling is meant to give the feel of driving through downtown Toyko at night during a light rain shower. Neat. The passenger seat is where the gaming ostensibly happens, and elements here such as the type of monitor, controller bling and even the drinks in the center console (aka "gaming fuel") were chosen by the Twitch audience too. We're talking about a showpiece here, as is plain from the detail work. This looks like the sort of thing Lexus would have set up at CES and later this year at E3 (the annual Electronic Entertainment Expo), but it may have made the auto show circuit as well. It's not really much of a car, nor would it make a very good gaming space, but hey, it's colorful.

Lexus GS 300 disappears from 2020 lineup

The seven-strong Lexus GS lineup will enter 2020 with only five models in the lineup. Cars Direct found out the entry-level GS 300 will not ring in the new year, the discovery explained by a Lexus spokesperson with, "the GS 300 represented a small percentage of GS sales in 2018." That will leave the standard GS 350 and the GS 350 F Sport, both offered in either rear- or all-wheel drive. With the $47,885 GS 300 out of the game, the price of entry for the range goes up to $52,420 for the GS 350 RWD. That price represents a $150 increase over 2019, and an MSRP of $51,395 plus a $1,025 charge for destination and handling. Perhaps it's a sign of how much Lexus believes in the sport sedan credentials of the GS 350 that the rear-wheel-drive version currently on sale costs $330 more than the all-wheel-drive model. This is reversed for the F Sport trims, with the GS 350 F Sport AWD needing $1,745 more than version with a driven rear axle only. If pricing differentials hold across the range into 2020, that would make the GS 350 AWD $52,090, the GS 350 F Sport RWD would cost $53,785, and the GS 350 F Sport AWD $55,530. The GS F, charging along with a 5.0-liter V8 producing 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque sent to the rear wheels only, will run $86,035. That's a $560 bump over the 2019 model year. Since the GS F 10th Anniversary Edition celebrated the tenth anniversary of F performance this year, we don't expect the $89,350 sedan to continue into next year. The GS has been in the spotlight at Lexus HQ since last summer, when the brand's general manager told Automotive News "we're certainly evaluating both vehicles," speaking of the GS and IS. For next year, the 241-horsepower GS 300 slips off the scene, but one wonders how long even the 311-hp GS 350 can stick around when the entire lineup sold just 6,604 units in the U.S. last year. Sales are down more than 50 percent this year, down from a 2015 high of 23,117. The new ES is just nine horses down on the GS, $7,000 less expensive, and sold 50 percent more units in the U.S. in January than the GS has so far this year. With no news of an updated GS on the way and the ES rumored to add an all-wheel-drive trim for 2020, the GS could have a hard time standing up to business-case scrutiny.

Lexus customizes 10 cars as characters from 'Eternals'

Lexus has vanda — uh, customized — ten cars to go along with "Eternals," the latest movie in the Marvel cinematic universe. Each vehicle has been chosen to represent one of ten heroes from the story, wrapped in colorful designs that Lexus says reflect their costumes and powers. We suppose that if you're an immortal being that needs to be embodied in automotive form, a Lexus isn't a bad choice given their reputation for long-term reliability. But, if you've been living among Earthlings for 7,000 years and are trying to lay low, maybe a brightly colored car with gold underglow isn't the most effective stealth mode. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Some of the cars are quite appropriate. Thena, incarnated as a white and gold Lexus LC500, seems like a perfect embodiment of Angelina Jolie's character's power and elegance. Similarly, the red RC F Track Edition representing Makkari, played by Lauren Ridloff, is a good fit for what is described as the fastest Eternal. And the hulking Land Cruiser-based Lexus LX570 makes a good Gilgamesh, played by Don Lee, the biggest and strongest of the bunch. However, we then get into questionable territory when Phastos is also represented by a second LX570 because, per Lexus, "The LX is technologically advanced, making it an ideal fit for Phastos, played by Brian Tyree Henry, the technological guru of the team." Uh, okay. That claim would make more sense if the SUV was a 2022 Lexus LX600, but images show the Phastos car based on a current-gen LX, which is 14 years old. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We don't know enough about the rest of the "Eternals" characters to know if the cars are fitting, but for the sake of completion, here we go. Salma Hayek's Ajak and Barry Keoghan's Druig are represented by Lexus GX460s, Richard Madden's Ikaris is a Lexus LS sedan, Gemma Chan's Sersi is a non-Track Edition RCF, Lia McHugh's Sprite is a Lexus NX, and Kumail Nanjiani's Kingo is an IS350. Again, that last one is an odd choice since Nanjiani drove an IS500 in a recent ad (that also features a pretty cool looking right-hand-drive Mitsubishi Pajero). "Eternals" opens on November 5, 2021. The Lexus cars will be used at promotional events and at the red carpet premiere. It is the second time Lexus has been the official car of a Marvel movie, following 2018's Black Panther.