For some, the politically correct “hybrid” act at Lexus has become a bit overplayed. The brand was founded on ultra-high-quality cars: The first LS blew everyone away with its pitch-perfect S-class impersonation, the first-gen RX crossover was a better M-class, and the long-gestating LFA is one of the best supercars ever created, having toppled the Ferrari 599 HGTE in a comparison test. Lexus can and should be about performance, and therefore we applaud the fact that Toyota’s German high-performance and motorsports subsidiary TMG has grabbed a short-wheelbase LS luxury sedan and added some serious gusto to create the TMG Sports 650.
The engineers started out with the 365-hp, 4.6-liter V-8 of the LS460 and added two turbochargers. Power climbs to 641 hp; maximum torque rises from 367 lb-ft at 4100 rpm to 564 lb-ft at 5450 rpm. The modified V-8, which drives all four wheels, redlines at a lofty 7500 rpm. The performance claims are pretty impressive: Zero to 62 mph takes a mere 3.9 seconds, while top speed is said to push close to 200 mph. Those numbers would put it comfortably ahead of both the last Mercedes-Benz S63 and S65 AMGs we’ve tested, although the three-pointed star has new missiles in the pipeline.
The TMG Sports 650 stands on 275 front and 345 rear Michelin rubber, which is slipped over black 20-inch BBS wheels. It sports huge front air intakes, side vents, carbon-fiber side skirts, a rear diffuser, and four large exhaust pipes placed diagonally, similar to those of the IS F. Total weight is said to have been reduced by about 200 lbs compared to the regular LS460 AWD. TMG has added Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes and Sachs shocks, too.
- First Drive: 2013 Lexus LS460 / LS460 F Sport / LS600hL
- First Drive: 2013 Lexus ES350
- Instrumented Test: 2013 Lexus GS450h Hybrid
Will it be launched as a production model? It’s unlikely, a European Lexus spokesperson tells us. It started out as an internal project at TMG, and the company recently decided it would be fun to exhibit the car at the Essen Motor Show, Germany’s equivalent to the SEMA show. It’s too bad it won’t be built, but maybe TMG will offer kits so LS drivers can finally give owners of the Audi S8, S-class AMGs, and Alpina B7 a run for their (prodigious piles of) money.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/caranddriver/blog/~3/G86J6j-SfRQ/
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