IS-F, LFA, LF-CC, GS 350 F, and LS-F and even TMG Sports 650. It all sounds like alphabet soup to the uninformed, but it is music to the ears of the hard core Lexus enthusiast. It is beginning to look like the days of being a luxury barge for those one step from the grave may be over for the luxury brand.
These models model mentioned above actually have bite to back up the bark, and they are in the showroom now or are destined to be in the not so distance future. Lexus is changing, and you can thank the vision of none other than Toyota's visionary leadership. They now are embracing performance and are hell bent on changing the stuffy Lexus brand into a world class performance leader.
Oddly enough this change in course, this is also occurring at the same time BMW is targeting sales in leu of the purist. A front wheel drive BMW would be a laughable proposition a decade ago, and now the word from Munich is there will soon be no less than 20 different FWD models bearing the BMW crest in the next decade. Is the "Ultimate Driving Machine" in danger of becoming an endangered species the victim of corporate bean counters?
It is hard to believe, but these arch rivals are targeting the opposite end of the spectrum, and are on an epic collision course targeting each other’s audience.
I seriously doubt a few years ago we would have foreseen this unfolding of events, but it appears the writing is on the wall. With that in mind we have to ask you, the best and the brightest. Has BMW to lost that cutting edge? Will Lexus to be reinvented as a performance brand?
Will The Passionate Pursuit of Perfection eventually trump the Ultimate Driving Machine?