The Japan Times
Toyota challenges Porsche with Lexus IS F
The Japan Times, Japan - 3 hours ago
The model will allow Toyota to compete with Porsche ag's Cayman, which costs ¥6.3 million to ¥8.3 million. Toyota aims to increase overseas sales of the ...



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This is not competition for the Cayman. The Cayman is a totally different look. Plus as a two seater with mid-engine, I bet the handling will be totally different.


If anytbing this is competition for the BMW M3

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not even close !! Besides, who took that photo?? totally emphasizes a bad view -- presuming there is a good view hehehe///
D&D

$60K ? Come on, who are they kidding? The IS350 is what $40K, $45K really decked out, I just don't see the IS buyer plunking down another $15K even to get the V8. For $60K there are a lot of other cars out there. I like the IS, heck my wife likes the IS and if we needed yet an extra car we'd certainly consider one but they don't make the 350 in AWD which seems a bit odd and there's simply no way we'd pony up that amount to get what amounts to a big motor stuffed in a small mid size car.

I do think it is more of a competitor to the M3 or maybe the 335i or something like that as opposed to the Cayman, I guess they didn't feel like throwing the gauntlet down at the 911 so they decided to try and pick on the Cayman. Unless they radically altered the suspension on the IS there is no way it will keep up with the Cayman on the track, it is simply too soft and the car is too heavy.

For $45k, maybe $50K I think they'd have something, but I think $60k is going to be too much of a stretch for the younger performance enthusiast crowd that they are supposedly trying to reach with this car.

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K-Man S

In all fairness... the 8-speed DSG on the IS-F sounds insane.

edit: No longer sure if it's a DSG, in Toyota's press release they call it a "Direct Sport Shift" that shifts within a 10th of a second, but then goes on to say it has a lockup torque converter, meaning it's no different than the standard tiptronic and probably not as performance tuned, but with more gears.

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- Suneet

So if it shifts in .1 sec and it has to shift 8 times, doesn't that mean almost a whole sec is lost just to shifting? I can't imagine why it would need so many gears. It not curising at 200 mph.

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resident comedienne

2006 Cayman S - Speed Yellow, Black Interior, Yellow Seat Belts
Sports Chrono Package, 6 Spd, PASM/PSM, Bi-Xenon headlamps
Carrera S wheels 19" - Conti Sport 2, Colored-crest wheel cap
Auto climate control, Heated seats
PCM 2.1 Nav, Denision ICE-Ipod, Bose Surround
De-snorked, Evo V-Flow

That is NOT competition. It might be a fine car but it will not compete against the Cayman.

I don't get it.

Anyway, I think that if a manufacturer wants to cater to the same demographic as Cayman's, there are two parts to the equation: Performance and Design. While most manufacturer can build cars to meet or even exceed the Cayman/Porsche performance, the design consistently misses the mark. There is nothing noteworthy about it. This is true of the Is series as much as it is true of the BMW 335. The design is bland and boring. A Cayman (or 911) stands out in traffic because of the design. So does an Elise. Unfortunately, too many manufacturers are trying to "play it safe",and tone down an aggressive look, etc. The result is a 'common" car that will never be iconic. Even the VW Bug (whose performance leaves a lot to be desired) reaches that status because of its look. Most Italian and British sports cars are readily recognizable solely on the design.
To me, design is as much as a factor as performance. You can stick a 650hp motor in a brick and that won't make it noteworthy, it will just make it a faster brick.

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I saw and sat in an IS-F this past Sunday at a Taste of Lexus event. While a nice car, and the engine sounds great, it is not a competitor for the Cayman. It is clearly targeted at the M3.

A little too boy racer for my tastes on the interior although the seats are nicely bolstered. I also didn't like the super low profile tires (30 section maybe--I didn't look). They looked like rubberbands around a wheel and just didn't fit with the overall size and height of the car.

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Robert

I disagree.

Wait to flame..

Why would this car be competition to the M3? Because it's front engine V8, rwd? If you were an M3 owner, you could argue this isn't even in the same league. The M3 is a Sports Coupe with a big engine in it. The Lexus is a Luxury Sedan with a big engine in it. Big difference, different league.

I would probably compare this closest to Audi. 4 Door Sedans with Big Engines. The difference being that Audi is more sports oriented than Lexus. Advantage..Audi for AWD on the S4/RS4. But then you could argue that the S4/RS4 competes with the M3..true..but maybe that will change with the S5/RS5 coming out.

Anyone else notice that the article says it will compete with the Cayman..but in context of the sentence they only state prices? So in terms of a price point, yes it is competing with the Cayman...doesn't mean it will do well, or that it's in the same performance category...just that it competes with it..pricewise.

And finally..I agree. This thing probably won't be considered by someone looking for a Cayman. They're completely different cars. The closest thing Lexus has to being in the same type of class is the Lexus SC. As soft as it is and non performance oriented, it is their smaller, convertible/coupe car. Which is what the Boxster/Cayman vs Z4/M4 vs Audi TT comparisons come in regardless of how different the layouts, engine/drivetrain/trans configuration.

I like that! A flying brick. But a faster flying brick wins

Specs are here Lexus - Future/Concept Vehicles - IS-F
The optional tires are 225/40 19" and 255/35

19" CS are 235/35 19" and 265/35 19"

If anything, the CS has more rubberband tires than that Lexus.

Going from visual memory here.... I believe Lexus showcased the IS F at the Monterey Historic Races. There were several sweeping the track at high speed between race events. The engine sounds great and it has a novelty look with the added racer-flage, but I don't consider it Cayman competition. Absent of price, it's more head to head with the 3-series M or Audi R.