KEY POINTS:
The luxury sports sedan market hots up this year with the introduction of the V8-powered Lexus IS-F, the first play-maker from Japan to challenge German supremacy in the division.
The Lexus, a muscular, rear-drive variant of the IS 250, is aimed at putting a dent in a segment controlled almost exclusively by the BMW M3, Audi RS4 and C-Class derivative from Mercedes-Benz' performance arm AMG.
Toyota's top-end brand will also challenge the price of the competition - it has a reputation for beating its comfort-focused German rivals on value and can be expected to do the same with the sportier IS-F.
The four-door will go on sale in New Zealand about September/October. Expect the car-maker to stage a pre-launch campaign designed to bahn-storm the opposition.
"We will certainly be letting the market know that the car's on its way," says Lexus NZ operations manager Debbie Pattullo.
The new model goes on sale in the United States this month, priced at US$56,765 ($73,150).
Quad exhaust pipes, wider front guards, a larger grille, bonnet bulge and rear spoiler provide the extra visual muscle over the standard IS 250.
Lexus expects to sell between 200-300 IS-F sedans a month Stateside. The car comes with heated leather seats, dual climate control, programmable garage door opener and automated rain-sensing wipers.
Optional features include DVD navigational system with rearview camera, park assist and a pre-collision system.
Pattullo says the car will be similarly equipped here but the price has yet to be fixed.
But indications from speculative Australian pricing point to the top-spec model sitting at between $140,000 and $150,000 on this side of the Tasman.
Such a price would undercut the Germans by at least $20,000.
The BMW M3 sedan is expected to cost around $170,000 when it arrives in New Zealand next month.
The Audi RS4 sedan sits at $164,900 and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz C63 is likely to be about $160,000, or roughly $9000 less than the car it replaces, the supercharged C55.
It is understood that Mercedes-Benz NZ would like to bring the C63 in at around $155,000.
It is watching Australian pricing for the car, which starts at A$139,000 ($157,000) for leather-lined cloth seating. The C63 for NZ is likely to be a leather-only model.
The IS-F is powered by a 5-litre V8 engine producing 310kW (416bhp) and 500Nm of torque and driving the rear wheels via an eight-speed sequential gearbox.
Lexus claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 4.6 seconds and a top speed of 270km/h.
It's the first model to wear the company's new F-badge. The F signifies Fuji speedway, the Toyota-owned racing circuit where Lexus high-performance development is conducted. More "F" models are expected from Lexus, with speculation that a GS-F will be next up.
The Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG promises to be the fastest and best-handling C-Class flagship yet.
It is powered by a 6.2-litre V8 developing 336kW (450bhp) and 600Nm and driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed sequential gearbox.
AMG claims a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 4.5 seconds and a governed top speed of 250km/h.
The C63 receives the usual AMG styling treatment, with flared wheel arches, deep side skirts, bonnet creases ("power domes" in Benz-speak) and an aggressive-looking front bumper featuring a big three-pointed star.
The car gets a number of modifications over the regular new C-Class range, with an AMG-tuned chassis including bigger, 18-inch wheels, wider tracks, more rigid front axle and bigger anti-roll bars for improved cornering stability.
A three-stage stability control system is also the first on an AMG model that can be switched off by the driver.
Other features are specific front quarter guards beneath which lurk speed-sensitive AMG sports steering, reinforced drive shafts and joints, a 35mm-wider front wheel track, 18-inch AMG alloys, beefier brakes and new three-link front suspension with firmer springs and dampers.
Mercedes-Benz says that so comprehensive is the level of standard equipment that only four factory options will be available: a carbon-fibre trim package, Keyless Go auto unlocking and starting, a rear window blind and an engine bashplate.
BMW introduces a new component to the go-fast segment with its double-clutch transmission for the M3 range.
Called "M DCT with Drivelogic," it will replace the previous-generation M3's Sequential M Gearbox and is expected to be an option in the 309kW/400Nm 4-litre V8-powered coupe, sedan and convertible this year.
The automated manual transmission will replace SMG for BMW's M5 and should also filter down to other 3- and 5-Series models.
Developed by transmission specialist Getrag, the seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox is effectively BMW's answer to Volkswagen's recently revealed second-generation seven-speed DSG transmission.
Offering 11 driver-selectable electronic shift programmes (five in the fully automatic mode and six in manual mode), BMW claims the M3 with M-DCT is 0.2 seconds quicker to 100km/h than the M3 manual, at 4.6 seconds, while returning average fuel consumption of 11.9 litres/100 km.
Operated via the centre console shifter or the steering wheel paddles, each of the M-DCTs two oil-cooled wet clutches activate its own set of ratios: one for first, third, fifth, seventh and reverse gears, the other for second, fourth and sixth gears.
The Audi RS4 is the only model out of the four here that uses a manual gearbox.
It is a six-speeder, driving all four-wheels through Audi's quattro system and coupled to a 4.2-litre V8 engine producing 309kW and 430Nm. Audi claims a sprint time of 4.8 seconds and a governed top speed of 250km/h.
