Merc1
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Lexus quietly trotted out its IS-F Racing Concept last week at the Tokyo Auto Salon, but despite the official unveiling, more questions than answers remain about the future of the DTM-inspired sedan.
According to Winding Road, the racer was the brainchild of the IS-F's chief engineer, Yukihiko Yaguchi, who wanted to create a vehicle that further expanded the credentials of the IS-F. Unfortunately, when Peter Nunn questioned the Toyota folks about what plans it had for the concept, he was met with resounding silence.
Rumors are swirling that this particular concept is nothing more than a design study, with no intention of campaigning a similar IS-F competitively. However, Lexus is supposedly working on an IS-F to campaign in the SuperGT GT300 series in Japan, with the SC430-based racer soldiering on in the GT500 class. More surprising is that the IS-F currently being developed by the Japanese Bandoh team might be sporting a mid-engine configuration. We're not sure if that's going to sit well with SuperGT officials, but testing of the race car is expected to begin at Suzuka towards the end of February and we'll know more then.
Autoblog Chinese snapped off a handful of images of the IS-F Racing Concept in person while at the Tokyo Auto Salon and you can check them out in the gallery below.
2008 Tokyo Auto Salon: Lexus IS-F racer unveiled - Autoblog
Looks wicked doesn't it? Bruce is going to love this.
M
