In an interesting and unexpected, yet quite logical decision, the Lexus IS 250C's second major auto show appearance was not in Los Angeles, but at the
Australian International Motor Show in
Sydney, which opened on Thursday 9 October and runs until Sunday 19 October. Lexus took advantage of the fact that Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz opted not to attend the show to set up a show stand twice the size of that in previous years. Although the main focus was on the IS 250C, the 2009 IS facelift and the debut Down Under of the IS F (before its November on-sale date), there was yet another notable premiere, namely the
Lexus IS 250 Sports Concept. To hear
Noah Joseph of Autoblog describe it as "an IS F, only without the 5-liter V8", however, strikes us as a bit of hyperbole. Perhaps he was pouring a little too much
Yellow Tail or
Penfolds Grange wine as he failed to spot the obvious. His colleagues at
Australia's Drive.com.au missed it as well. Fortunately, the folks at
GoAuto were on the ball when they rightly described it as "a preview of what could soon be offered here via the F Sport accessory range, which is already available in the US and now under consideration for Australia."
As Lexus Australia chief executive
John Roca described it, “The introduction of the IS250 Sports Concept is still in preliminary stages but it's something we definitely want to investigate. The addition of the performance enhancements to the IS range would assist in attracting younger buyers to the Lexus brand – and give Lexus a vehicle that aspiring IS F customers could step into." Roca adds that the company is "very confident" of introducing a sports variant into Australia in the first half of next year, although local compliance issues regarding the car's exhaust and body kit are delaying its arrival. Here's hoping those issues can be resolved soon and that our friends Down Under can soon enjoy F-Sport goodness on their IS 250s just like we can here in North America.
For more on the Lexus F-Sport accessory line, check out our previous stories listing
parts numbers, specs and suggested retail prices; and links to
the official fsport.com site.
» Wheel & Tire Center
