IS 300 Pace Car

Lexus Debuts Its Is 300 Pace Car At The Cart Fedex Championship Season Finale.


Posted By: Uri Gorbatov
Oct 25, 2000, 09:10 AM

A new CART champion won't be the only thing fans can look forward to seeing this weekend at the Marlboro 500 Presented by Toyota. A race-modified Lexus IS 300 pace car is scheduled to lead the pack at the CART FedEx Championship season finale, Friday October 25th at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif.

Not quite your traditional Lexus, the bright yellow IS 300 has been outfitted with race and safety modifications to handle the special demands of pacing Champ Car races. The pace car features a 5-speed manual transmission and a Toyota Racing Development (TRD) supercharger, which adds 50 horses for a total of 265 horsepower.

Other modifications in the body-building regimen include a roll cage, race-tuned suspension that hugs the track and provides plenty of nimble handling and driver feedback through Eibach racing coil springs and Bilstein shocks. Increased cornering control is achieved with 18" front and 19" rear BBS wheels and Bridgestone Potenzza 225/35ZR/18 tires in the front and 245/35ZR/19 in the rear while Brembo brakes help keep the IS 300 in check.

Special PPG exterior finishing will definitely turn heads with the slick silver, brushed aluminum and purple graphics added by Molly Design reflecting the chronograph-style instrument panel gauges of the IS 300.

This is the third foray into the CART pace car line-up for Lexus. The SC 400 sport coupe led the way in 1992 and the high-performance GS 400 rounded the track first in 1997 at the Toyota Grand Prix of Monterey.

The Lexus IS 300 went on sale June 23 and like the pace car, shows a less traditional side of Lexus which is attracting a younger, edgier crowd. Lexus is also working with TRD to create an L-Tuned version of the IS 300. Body effects would feature front fascia and lip spoiler, choice of grilles, side skirts, rear wing and wheel/tire set. Suspension modifications would include shocks, springs, front and rear sway bars, brake pad and slotted brake rotors as well as a performance high-flow exhaust. Stay L-Tuned for further information.



Specifications IS 300 Pace Car
VEHICLE TYPE 4-seat, 4-door RWD compact sport sedan
ENGINE TYPE 24-valve, in-line 6 trD supercharged
DISPLACEMENT 2997 cc
HORSEPOWER 265@5800 rpm
TORQUE (lb-ft) 245 lb-ft
trANSMISSION 5-speed manual
WHEELBASE 105.1 in.
FRONT SUSPENSION Double wishbone Eibach racing coil springs
REAR SUSPENSION Double wishbone Eibach racing coil springs
SHOCK ABSORBERS Bilstein
WHEELS BBS Front - 18" x 8" Rear - 19" x 8"
TIRES Bridgestone Potenza SO-2 Pole Position
Front - 225/35ZR/18
Rear - 245/35ZR/19
BRAKES Front - Brembo four piston caliper w/ 12.9"
floating ventilated discs
Rear - single piston caliper w/ 12" rotor
PAINT PPG Automotive Finishes
GRAPHICS Molly Designs

 

Minority Report Lexus



Lexus. A god shoots an arrow that transforms into a speeding Lexus car, circa 2054. The beautiful driver looks both ways down a desert crossroads and then speeds off down one of the roads. The message: In 2054, the plebes drive cars that are pre-programmed to take them to their destinations. Only the well-to-do can afford cars they can pilot manually. An important plot point for Anderton, who needs all the flexibility in travel plans he can muster to escape Precrime.


Looking totally unfamiliar except for its Lexus emblem, the car is supposed to be made of carbon-fibre and titanium (with colour-changeable, dent-resistant memory body panels) and powered by a 500-kilowatt electric engine. Weighing just over a tonne, it zips around on 22-inch titanium wheels.

Stopping power is from a set of ceramic hybrid disc brakes, which provide regenerative electrical power to the batteries when applied, Lexus said.

Its suspension is supposed to be fully-independent double-wishbone type and automatically adapts to speed and road conditions.

Onboard gadgets include night vision, laser-guided cruise control, voice and gesture-activated controls, rear-view cameras and sonar park assistance. Then there is DNA recognition for entry and ignition, infrared-based accident avoidance, self-diagnosis, self-parking auto valet and weather-sensitive cabin ambience control.

Car buffs will know that some of the technologies are already available as high-end options today.

The futuristic sports Lexus was created jointly by Toyota's Calty studio, with input from conceptual artist Harald Belker and a team of futurists. It was constructed by CTEK, a California-based tech firm.

There is also a second Lexus vehicle in the film - a wheel-less, brake-less pod that rides on a city's comprehensive magnetic-levitation (Mag-Lev) network at up to 160 kmh. This form of private rapid mobility, it seems, will overtake mass transit in popularity.

Producer Steven Spielberg apparently got the idea for Lexus to do a futuristic car because he owns a Lexus sport-utility. 'I've been driving a Lexus SUV and I thought Lexus might be interested in holding hands with us and going into a speculative future to see what the transportation systems and cars would look like on our highways in 50 years,' he says.

It is believed to be the first time a present make of car is depicted on film this way; but of course it is not the first time Lexus has been in the movies.

In the remake of Godzilla, the Lexus RX300 is seen briefly. And the LS flagship has been seen in several Hollywood hits.

Minority Report, now showing, is about how law-enforcers use psychic science to track down and arrest would-be criminals before they commit a crime. It stars Tom Cruise, whose character gets to pilot the ultra-cool Lexus.

In another development, Toyota has struck a US$100 million, five-year product placement deal with Universal Studios. Expect to see lots of new Toyotas on the screen from now.

 

 

Same color as my IS300 but with different wheels and graphics.

 

Allways happy to help Mike

 

Come on, Sick, how could you forget the SC/Soarer Concept?

It "ain't" much to look at, but it led to one of the most beautiful cars ever

(and I drive one, tee hee)

 

NHRA Sport Compact SC400 drag car.

Twin turbo'd with a 4.9 liter 2UZ-FE.

IDRC record holder 7.38 @ 185.16mph

 

Sigh. SICK, your not making this thread any fun. You basically found them all. LOL. Can I find one please!!?? LOL

Good job though. I didnt even know about some of them.

 

Hey I found one

 

Jasen Humphries GS..he's still running it...we are talking 7s and 8s in the 1/4 mile!! I met him at NOPI a couple years ago, great dude.

 

http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2542...30961650DvIcdY

Amazing but seems Lexus was ahead the curve with this van concept back in 1996. Look at the sweeping roofline and windows. Today Mercedes has the R-class van and BMW is entering the van segment as well....

I am glad though, Lexus did NOT make this move. It would have been an image killer at the time. Lexus for the first time really tackled the sporty Germans with the 2GS in 1998.

 

Nice find Mike. Yeah I still remember when the 2GS 400 came out in 1998 with 300 horsepower. I test drove that thing by myself and it rockected. Hopefully the GS 460 will have 400 horses or at least 380 horses just like the LS 460...

 

We should revive this thread!

 

Wow, this is a good old thread... I second on reviving it!

Now this isn't exactly a Lexus, but it became a Lexus. Back in 1990, Guigaro made this concept... Jaguar Kensington. They didn't go for it. When Toyota hired Guigaro to design a new sport sedan for them shortly after, he based if off the Jaguar concept he'd already drawn. The Toyota Aristo and the Lexus GS were born. You can see the resemblance.

 

Interesting find, thx for posting, I remember reading about how Jaguar passed on Guigaro's idea, glad Lexus partnered with him, setting the tone for the GS sedans to follow.