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something i find unflattering about this photo... the hood looks high, the overhangs too long, the wheels too small.
it's a neat car though!
Camera angle and lens zoom does that. A lot of late model Lexus have long noses to help incorporate the spinde grille design to the front. I like short overhangs myself. Less chance of scraping the front end.
Originally Posted by bitkahuna
Kirk Kreifels makes terrible clickbait, content-free videos.
I think a lot of us that have been around long enough in the Lexus community has pointed this out. LOL
Lance, surely you know better than that The Chevy small block has overhead valves and a cam that is located in the block with the valves operated by push rods..
Lou
Yes indeed it does. A single cam located beneath the heads as opposed to overhead cams or dual overhead cams. I've poked fun at this for more than 30 years calling the design a single underhead cam, and I cut my engine building teeth on pushrod engines when I was a kid in 1972 and my dad was building 426 Hemis for circle track racing. I learned about measuring valve to piston clearance and setting cam timing when I was 12.
^^^^My first V8 was a flathead A 1950 Mercury Coupe. Bought it in 1957 when I got out of Basic Training. Cost me $250 bux
Lou
Your monthly gross pay was $82.30. $250 "bux" was a huge chunk of change in 1957. I am 20 plus years retired after 20 years, 7 months, and 8 days in the USAF. My annual wage wasn't even close to minimum wage at the time I enlisted, and I had 27 people working for me when I retired at an annual wage of $34k 31Dec99.
Flathead engines were killed by OHV. OHV was killed by OHC, and OHC was killed by DOHC. I had a big argument with my dad about lobe center and DOHC engines when he contended it wasn't possible to change LC because he was stuck in the mire of single underhead cam implementations.
How is that way behind? It's all still true, you have to go to something performance oriented. The IS 500 F Sport Performance definitely falls under this bucket. And highly doubtful that it would survive until 2030 in current form.
How is that way behind? It's all still true, you have to go to something performance oriented. The IS 500 F Sport Performance definitely falls under this bucket. And highly doubtful that it would survive until 2030 in current form.
I would say it's at least behind in the fact that the GS F was discontinued last year.
The beauty of the IS350 is that, if Lexus is to be believed, it's bringing in new customers to the sports sedan market. The company confirms that not only are IS350s flying off the lots, but it's also not a supply issue. It's the result of booming demand, at least partially due to an all-out marketing push for the car. I've seen IS marketing everywhere, from normal Twitter and television ads to extensive sponsored ad reads by YouTube Gaming streamer CouRage.
Those campaigns are notable because they don't emphasize the gimmicks of the car, but the Lexus Driving Signature and reworked styling. They proclaim that Lexus is "all-in on the sports sedan." It seems to be paying off. Lexus internal data not only shows high demand following the marketing campaign but particular resonance with "younger luxury sports sedan enthusiasts."
Yes indeed it does. A single cam located beneath the heads as opposed to overhead cams or dual overhead cams. I've poked fun at this for more than 30 years calling the design a single underhead cam, and I cut my engine building teeth on pushrod engines when I was a kid in 1972 and my dad was building 426 Hemis for circle track racing. I learned about measuring valve to piston clearance and setting cam timing when I was 12.
What’s so funny about it? If it ain’t broke...
I’m a broken record but the Chevy 5.3 in my truck is just as happy to be pushed to redline and revved out as the DOHC 4.3 in my LS.
Just like when the IS F first came out in 2007, I posted some polls to generate some data to share with Lexus HQ. This time it's for the IS 500 F SPORT Performance. Your vote does count so please enter your vote on this poll below:
Lexus has plans to take its F performance label to even greater heights, according to officials. That's one of the key reasons the IS 500 F Sport Performance wasn't a full-blown IS F, Lexus executives said.
Speaking before a gathering of Lexus enthusiasts at the IS 500 Launch Edition's, uh, launch at Sebring Raceway, group vice president and general manager of the Lexus division Andrew Gilleland reaffirmed that the IS 500 F Sport Performance is the first in a line of high-performance but sub-F cars (at 5:11 in the video below). "There will definitely be more vehicles. There's a lot more coming where this came from," Gilleland said, eliciting cheers from the gathered crowd of enthusiasts.
Gilleland then pointed at Lexus product planner Cooper Erickson and told the fans, many of whom had brought their own tuned F cars to the event, "If you want to see more of this," gesturing to the IS 500, "Go bug the s--t out of him."
Erickson himself then took to the stage and discussed how the IS 500 came to be and the future of the F designation (at 6:17 in the video). First, he acknowledged that sedan sales are challenging. He also described the 2021 IS's chassis as a combination of the GS and RC platforms, which grew the track 1.4 inches wider. "If it's part GS and part RC, then why can't we drop a big-*** V8 in it?" Erickson wanted to know.
"Nobody's doing that. But, we can," Erickson continued, "Because we do an amazing job with our hybrid products. So from a CAFE, greenhouse gas and emissions standpoint, we can manage having a V8 in a car like this when nobody else can."
However, it still required approval from the mothership in Toyota City. So during an event at Pebble Beach, Erickson told Lexus chief engineer Koji Sato that he wanted to bring back the IS F. "Let's put the V8 in it, Let's do an IS F," he told Sato.
At first, Sato's reply seemed like a no. "We have new plans for F," he explained. "F will be higher. Only Akio [Toyoda] can approve F [cars]." The CEO is known for being one of the few carmaker heads that actually moonlights as a racing driver.
Erickson said that even if the IS F was off the table, he still wanted a V8-powered IS. "So what if we call it IS 500 F Sport? Who can approve that?"
Sato's reply: "Cooper-san, I can approve that." Apparently the rest is history.
Gilleland then took the mic to reaffirm and build upon Erickson's statements. "This is the start," he replied when asked if there's more F cars coming, "We are performance oriented."
"The brand's changing," Gilleland added. "[The IS 500] starts to inform what that brand change looks like." He then stated that the change wouldn't be limited to just cars, but SUVs as well.
Another interesting tidbit: The IS 500 switched to lug bolts instead of lug nuts, saving 1.5 pounds on each wheel. The BBS wheels are lighter than the standard IS's by another 4 pounds per wheel, meaning engineers shaved 20 pounds of unsprung weight. While prevalent on other performance cars, the only other Lexus to use lug bolts has been the LFA. In total, the IS 500 has a better power-to-weight ratio than the original IS F (8.2 pounds per horsepower vs 9.1).
Lexus clearly wanted enthusiasts to know they are taking performance seriously. Back in February we reported that an IS F, LS F, and LC F were coming. The first part of that mostly came true. If we are to take these execs at their word, it looks like the rest could soon follow.
Kirk Kreifels posted some footage of the event at Sebring where they all but confirmed more "F" models to come, and more "F Sport Performance" models as well. I am excited.
Also, great choice by Lexus on that Incognito color. It's <insert chef's kiss> just right for the IS 500.
A 1950 Mercury Coupe. Bought it in 1957 when I got out of Basic Training. Cost me $250 bux
