It states this was at the Taste of Lexus event:

http://autospies.com/article/index.a...&categoryId=21

 

Nice and appropriate for this forum.

However, you also have to take into consideration who were driving the cars. I would really love a video of the two cars racing in a experimentally controlled environment with comparably skilled drivers.

 

that Bimmer would've been spanked no matter who was driving it. there was only 1 or 2 turns and the IS is WAY quicker.

nice find Rich.

 

Cool. Not very surprising though, considering there were only a couple turns. The IS350 is definitely a rocket in the straights.

 

I got this vid from E46Fanatics and it is amazing the way they are biased over there. One of the members went to the Taste of Lexus event and drove the new GS430 and was saying how he thought it performed better than the 550. Then people started saying that the BMWs at the event were sabotaged. But it was amazing to see some of the comments from the people who had NEVER driven either car bashing the guy who had driven both and given his opinion. I am just glad that CL isnt that way, other than towards Infiniti

 

LOL

 

 

to those who don't know the background, both cars were driven by pro drivers. they are first grade autox drivers and you don't want to mess with them. during the taste of luxury event they run these races between the is350 and the 330 (and also the gs300 vs the 530i) all day long to show how the cars run.

i saw those cars in action (both races), it's crazy. they were fast. those drivers really pushed the car to the limit and i bet a lot of people here can't even catch up.

the is350 clearly walks away from the 330i, like chuck said, even if the cars are driven by normal people. although for the gs300 vs 530i race i am a bit skeptical. it was on a track, and imho the bimmer tracked the gs300 pretty well throughout the whole course. although from the commentary they kept on saying how the gs300 "loses" the 530i....

 

The GS300 "loses" the 530i? The GS430 "beat" the 550i?

Now, I am pretty skeptical about that. Even in a straightline the 5 should beat the GS. In a track it should be no contest.

 

that's what i am saying. i didn't see the gs300 winning the 530i at all, unlike the is350 beating the 330i bad.

there was no 550i, so i have no clue how it will stack up with the gs430, but i can imagine the results...

 

i saw an E500...no 550i...and the E500 aint no sports car....it's a railroad car on wheels...

 

Lexus also staged this at the bay area event.

Yes, we all know that IS350 is faster at straight. IS350 will spank 330i in straight due to massive power advantage it has. But IS350 simply does not handle well. Personally i find this to be pointless, since straight line performance does not mean IS350 is a better car. It simply means that Is350 engine is more powerful and excellent in the straight.

Overall, i still think IS350 is a disaster. Excellent power and nothing else.

 

Is350 with sports package handles very well.
Even my buddy who owns an m3/ along with a 3 series 7 series and 5 series said he was impressed.

 

i wouldn't go as far as saying that the is350 is a disaster, that's too much. the is350 doesn't NOT handle well, it just doesn't handle as good as the 330i (or at least the feel). take it up against a lot of cars out there and i will still say the is350 out handles TONS of cars.

plus, what do you mean pointless anyway? every track setup has its pros and cons. give it a track that's full of turns and no straight away and i can say it's pointless coz' you can't demo the power of the is350. to be honest i think the track lexus setup was pretty ok already, i say it's half turns to test handling and half straight away to test power. if lexus wants to be "pointless", they would just get a drag stripe.

and regarding the "nothing else" comment, i am very thankful that the is350 got much better interior design than MOST cars of its class

 

Oh, never mind !! The new BMW 330i is a disaster in its own ways too, it just steers &handles well but nothing else