T2Green

I found the 'Ring spy photos very interesting and did a little research.
It looks like the hood bulge is an extractor not a scoop. The vents face rearward as pointed out by LEXUS FAN! You can see silver hood vents, mirrors, and headlight washers (Euro version only?). It is almost completely covered in black camo. A turbo or supercharger usually require a scoop not a heat extractor, and the hybrid sedans have their batteries and vent system in the trunk.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the fender flares and a possible lip spoiler on the trunk. These two things along with the hood extractor and the fact that Audi, BMW & M-Benz do or will offer V-8s in their S4, M3 & C55, would lead me to believe the rumors about a V-8 option, which might need some extra cooling in a cramped engine compartment and differentiate it from the base IS.
Surprisingly, the wheels & tires don't appear to be any larger, and the whole car appears to be higher off the ground. There is a huge gap between the fender flare and tire, and more ground clearance going by the door sill. Possible AWD? Maybe AWD with V-8, ala S4? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

LexFather

Hmm, good theory.
I dunno though, the IS is brand new, I don't think Lexus would leak a higher performance IS already, I would think they do it when the IS buzz goes down some..

XeroK00L

Very good theory and good job catching the fender flares, T2Green! The IS500 rumor is looking more and more real.
The camo'd LF-A prototype was caught running at Nurburgring many months before the LF-A was officially introduced. After all, Nurburgring is a public circuit. It is very possible for any manufacturer to be caught testing their unreleased vehicles there.

flipside909

Yes more real bs.

LexFather

You know, I just looked at the pic again and damn, it does look different

flipside909

The only obvious physical difference is the hood vents and the sidemarkers we don't get.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

hahaha ok, the truth is, that's a big *** v8 under the hood, they couldn't close it so they had to "push it up". and since the space it too tight they had to put on the extractor for cooling.....










hehe, how's that ok of course that's just a joke.... but nice theory there, iwould be really happy if they are testing a race version of the IS there. but what i think is, if they really have those hood extractors.... i am not sure if that's what lexus would want.... the car gets very sporty and lose the taste of "luxury"?

XeroK00L

Yep...everything is possible. That's what makes speculation so much fun! Well, isn't that why the IS line was introduced in the first place, to leave the "taste of luxury" to the ES and make the IS able to put its focus instead on being a true sports sedan?

kyle3481

the hood and the FENDERS look big!! compared with the stock Is350...

Gojirra99

So is the M3, it rides harsh too. Anyone who wants more luxury can just go with the regular IS250/350. If there will indeed be such a IS, it will be a limited production model anyway . . .

rominl

iTrader: (4)

umm... maybe, but compared to m3 vs 3 or c55 vs c, the extractor seems to be too much of a change? just me

VVT-i

It is hard to tell about the gap between fender and the how height between the body to the ground from those pictures. The car in the picture may taking a turn or coming down hill and we all know the Ring has a lot of turns.

What is this vent on the driver side hood?

XeroK00L

Good point but...shouldn't the front wheels be pointing at somewhere other than straight forward if the car was indeed making a turn?

flipside909

If it has exited a turn and going an opposite direction, it would be obvious to see the wheels straighten out. You see the car tilting forward meaning he's decellerating (hard braking) before an anticipated turn. To be honest you guys are taking this spy photo WAY out of context.

biker

How about a Cuda style tach (or some other instrumentation that was easier to just stick to the hood instead of bringing into the car)?