Lexus LFA Nürburgring Edition Posts a 7:14" Lap Time Around the 'Ring

It takes a lot of confidence to name a special edition of your car after the most demanding and famous circuit in the world. Even if said car is not some run-of-mill model, but a limited edition supercar. Enter the world of the LFA Nürburgring Edition, a track-oriented, hardcore version of the already awesome V10-powered Lexus supercar.

According to Tweets from Lexus Europe, the LFA lapped the Nordschleife in 7 minutes and 14 seconds making it the fourth fastest production car on the 'Ring (according to Wikipedia's record book).

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BMW Tops Competitors for 5th Consecutive Month in the U.S.

BMW continues to expand its lead in the US luxury car market against its main rivals Mercedes-Benz and Lexus. August was the fifth consecutive month in which the Munich-based carmaker was at the top spot with 20,815 deliveries, an increase of 6.5% compared to the same month of 2010. Read more »

TRD Introduces Lexus IS F Circuit Club Sports Package Inspired by Last Year's Concept

It's been over a year since Lexus unveiled the conceptual IS F Circuit Club Sport (CCS for short) at the 2010 edition of the Tokyo Auto Salon, but Toyota's TRD division has not forgotten about the prototype model.

TRD has just made available to the public an assortment of performance and styling accessories for the latest IS-F sports saloon, all inspired by the CCS concept .

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Lexus Promotes 2012 GS 350 as a Driver's Car in New Video

There are two main things Lexus would like to convince consumers in the premium segment about its new 2012 GS series: a. that it's stylish, and b. that it can handle and perform like a driver's car.

Over the next few months, we'll see Lexus trying to promote these qualities through its advertising channels. For now, we have a new promotional video that attempts to highlight the latest GS 350's driving dynamics.

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Lexus Teases the New GS F-Sport and GS 450h Hybrid

We only just got our first taste of the next generation of Lexus's executive sedan with the presentation of the 2013 GS 350 at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance show in Monterey last week, but the Japanese automaker has already moved along and is now getting ready for the world premieres of the GS F-Sport and GS 450h. Read more »

NASCAR Driver Kyle Busch Loses License for going 128MPH in a Lexus LFA Tester

Oh the irony…Less than 24 hours after Toyota released a new promotional video with NASCAR Sprint Cup driver Kyle Busch promoting the new 2012 Camry Hybrid on the Daytona race track, the 26-year old is making headlines again, this time for losing his driver's license for 45 days for speeding in a Lexus LFA test car.

Busch pleaded guilty to speeding and no contest to reckless driving in North Carolina after he was nabbed earlier this year by the Iredell County Sheriff's department going 128mph (205km/h) in a 45mph (72km/h) zone. Busch was caught in a brand-new Lexus LFA he had taken to test drive for 24-hours.

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Video Presentations of the 2013 Lexus GS and Infiniti JX Showcar

Leaving aside the elegant Cadillac Ciel which is a pure design study (for now), the big production stars of this year's edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance festival in Monterey, California, are the 2013 Lexus GS 350 and the production-ready Infiniti JX showcar.

We have already presented both cars in detail but we now have video footage from the presentation events that took place on Thursday evening ahead of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, and which you can watch right after the break.

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2013 Lexus GS Officially Unveiled at the Pebble Beach Festival [47 Photos + Video]

Time is up for Lexus to pull the wraps off the third-generation GS luxury sedan that made its first outing today at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California.

Based on the LF-Gh concept we saw in New York, the new GS features much bolder lines that its predecessor. Key highlights include a prominent trapezoidal grille that the company says will be a trademark of all future models, deep-set headlamps with L-shaped LED daytime running lights and an aerodynamic body that brings to mind the smaller IS.

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Toyota Spent $1.2 Million Courting Washington Politicians in Q2 of 2011

Lobbying is a fact of political life in most democracies. And as with everything else, it isn’t for free: you can never get something for nothing, and the companies know that very well. So they are prepared to spend quite a lot of cash on lobbying the US House and Senate for laws and regulations that meet their needs.

How much? It depends. Toyota Motor Corp., for example, spent $1.29 million in the second quarter of 2011 lobbying on tax incentives for patent laws, alternative energy vehicles, fuel cells and other issues, according to a report filed on July 20 with the House clerk's office, and which was obtained by the media.

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Lexus Adds Optional F-Sport Package to 2012 CT 200h

Lexus’ fifth hybrid vehicle and second dedicated hybrid after the HS sedan, the CT 200h, is cruising into its second model year with a few minor updates, the most important of which is the U.S. introduction of the optional F-Sport Package.

Unveiled for the first time at the 2010 Sydney Motor Show in Australia before making its North American debut at last year's SEMA gathering, the F-Sport Package for the CT 200h adds a limited number of visual and performance goods.

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Lexus Updates IS Sedan, Convertible and IS-F for 2012 Model Year

Following on from the recent announcement on the 2012 IS-F in Europe, Lexus has released details on the mildly updated IS series for the North American market.

The three iterations of the IS series, which include the sedan, convertible and the high-performance IS-F, remain virtually unchanged for the new model year as the upgrades are limited to color and equipment features.

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2013 Lexus GS350 Scooped Virtually Undisguised in China

We are less than 48 hours away from Lexus' world premiere of the new generation of its premium mid-size sedan, the 2013 GS, but China's Autohome news site has nabbed the most revealing shots of the car to date.

Essentially, the only parts of the 2013 GS that are covered are the front and rear Lexus logos. The car pictured here sports the GS 350 AWD badge at the rear, which means it is equipped with a 3.5-liter V6 petrol engine mated to a six-speed automatic transmission that transfers power to all four wheels.

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U Spy: 2013 Lexus GS Spotted Taking a Break in France

Eagle-eyed Carscoop reader Florian M. sent us these pictures of a heavily disguised 2013 Lexus GS prototype that he spotted at a rest area on a highway in France.

Lexus has been thoroughly testing the next generation of its mid-size premium sedan on both sides of the Atlantic, and it has also introduced the car to select media outlets for a first drive.

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2012 Lexus IS F: European Model gets Revised Chassis

Even though only a year has passed since Lexus revised its European market IS with a Euro 5 compliant 5.0-liter V8 and some minor styling tweaks such as the LED front lights and a new instrument panel design, the Japanese carmaker has just introduced a 2012MY version of its high-performance sports sedan.

The big news for the new model year IS-F is the updated chassis with Lexus promising a better overall driving experience and improved comfort thanks to the new shock absorbers, larger stabilizer bars and a revised suspension geometry.

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2013 Lexus GS: Teaser Shot Plus First Drive Videos from MT and R&T

Precisely two weeks remain for the official presentation of the all-new 2013 Lexus GS 350 on Thursday, August 18th at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, and the Japanese automaker decided it's time to enter the teaser photo game with the release of a single, partially blacked out image of the mid-size luxury sedan.

There's not much to say about the Lexus sedan from the photo other than that it looks a lot like the LF-Gh Hybrid concept we saw at this year's New York Auto Show.

For those of you that would like to see a bit more of the new GS than what Lexus has to offer, hit the break to watch the first test drive videos of the car by U.S. magazines Motor Trend and Road & Track.

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Silicon Valley “Tech Boom” Good News for California’s Car Dealers

Can you imagine buying a new car every six months? Trading in your MY2010 jalopy for the MY2011 model? Few of us would; after all, the cheapest new cars today are still around US$11,000 (€7,656).

It is, however, what many people do when it comes to portable electronics: notebook computers, mobile phones, PDAs and the like. It’s one of the reasons that Silicon Valley has recovered so quickly in this post-GFC world. There is big demand and big profits to be made in this ever growing sector of the market.

So it’s no wonder that luxury carmakers – among them Lexus, Mercedes-Benz and BMW – are experiencing healthy sales in the areas surrounding the Californian technological hamlet.

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New Video and Photos of All-New 2013 Lexus GS from European Presentation

Being that Toyota wants Lexus to compete against its German rivals not only in North America, but all over the world, along with the U.S. test drive event of the 2013MY GS in California, the Japanese automaker also coordinated a similar happening for European media at a proving ground in Belgium.

The journalists were invited to drive heavily disguised versions of pre-production 2013 Lexus GS models while the company's Chief Engineer, Yoshihiko Kanamori, was in attendance from Japan to gather feedback from the participants.

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Lexus Invites Magazines to Drive 2013 GS, will be Offered Only with V6 Engines, gets Netbook-Sized Screen

Following the announcement on the time and place of the premiere of the all-new 2013 Lexus GS 350 –that would be the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on August 18th for those of you that didn’t read our previous story- the Japanese company lifted the embargo on the first test drive of the car in the States.

Invitees include names like Car&Driver, Autoweek and Motor Trend. Naturally, the exterior of the pre-production test cars were bagged in plastic, but their interiors were largely free of camouflage (see links below for photos) revealing an edgier LF-A-esque design with lots of stitched leather on the dashboard and a gigantic 12.3-inch information screen above the center console.

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Official: All-New 2013 Lexus GS 350 to Debut in August at Pebble Beach Concours

This year’s edition of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance that takes place in California on August 18 will see Lexus lifting the veil off the next generation of its GS premium sedan, which we recently showed you testing at the Nurburgring racetrack in Germany.

Lexus teased the new GS with the LF-Gh Hybrid concept study at the New York Auto Show in April.

"Our customers have been waiting for a new GS that's more intense in every way," commented Mark Templin, Lexus group vice president and general manager. "They'll soon discover this GS was well worth the wait."

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Video: Motor Trend Drifts the Lexus LFA

Lexus’ first supercar, the LFA, looks more sinister than Darth Vader himself – especially in black. But it is indeed a very rare piece, which shouldn’t come to as a surprise considering that only 500 examples will be built each priced at a hefty $375,000. Read more »