KEY POINTS:
Lexus will unveil its F-badge model at the Detroit Motor Show in three weeks. It will be a go-fast version of the IS sedan, the New Zealand Herald's 2006 Car of the Year.
The new model will be called the IS-F - the F stands for "fast" - and be powered not by the 2.5-litre V6 engine sold in New Zealand, nor the optional 3.5-litre V6 available in the United States, but by a 5-litre V8, a retuned version of the engine running the flagship LS600L saloon.
It will be reworked by Japanese specialist Yamaha to produce 315kW, or 425bhp. Italian company Brembo will supply the brakes.
The IS-F is likely to go on sale in the United States towards the end of next year. Other markets will follow as the luxury Japanese carmaker takes on the three big-wheeling Germans at their own high-speed game.
These will include a GS-F sedan and an IS-F coupe.
The GS-F will target the E-Class AMG from Mercedes-Benz, the M5 from BMW and the R6 from Audi.
Lexus' parent Toyota has filed to trademark IS-F, and a stylised F logo.
Lexus New Zealand national manager Matthew Morrison wouldn't discuss the new IS-F performance sedan, but was delighted at the car of the year award for the IS250.
"The IS250 has been very well received by our customers and has been the driving force behind the growth of Lexus in 2006," Morrison said.
Sales of more than 220 units of the IS 250 since the beginning of the year had made it the top-selling model and the major contributor to a 30 per cent sales increase.
The rear-drive model extends the Lexus L-finesse global design philosophy first revealed in the Lexus GS range last year.
The philosophy has strength and aerodynamic efficiency at its core.
The body of the IS250 is around 30 per cent torsionally stiffer and the styling and underbody aerodynamics help the car displace air more efficiently.
The improved aerodynamics - a co-efficient drag ratio of 0.27 - also resulted in increased fuel efficiency and reduced interior noise.
Three IS250 models are available: IS250 Sport ($69,900) with six-speed manual, IS250 Sport ($75,740) with six-speed automatic with manual mode and paddle-shift levers, and IS250 Limited ($80,980), with the same six-speed auto unit.
The 2.5-litre V6 produces 153kW (205bhp) at 6400rpm and 252Nm of torque at 4800 rpm. That's not super-output but every bit of it urges the driver to get involved.
The IS250 is a delight, on and off the throttle. And marrying gears two, three and four to the optimum revs through the twisty bits is a heady mix of oomph and refinement. On a classy chassis, too. Ride comfort, handling, body control and stability are as good as the best German rivals.
The arrival of the more precise IS-F range will make things interesting. The IS 250 comes with a world first in safety - a twin-chamber airbag shaped to lessen the impact on the front-seat passenger. It is one of eight airbags.
Like all Lexus models, it comes with a four-year/140,000 warranty. Service till then is free. So are four new tyres.
There is also a Lexus hotline. This takes the place of the original hotline in New Zealand - the phone number of the Lexus boss, just in case anything goes pear-shaped.
And the other winners ...
Most ambitious
Ford, for introducing a flexifuel Focus model that runs on E85, a blend of 15 per cent petrol and 85 per cent ethanol. The mix is not available in commercial quantities in NZ. As one oil company executive said: "Why should we put E85 pumps in service stations when more than 55 per cent of NZ's car pool is made up of used Japanese imports that can't run on it? That's like putting a meat counter in a vegetarian supermarket." Full marks to Ford for thinking green, though.
The most basic exhaust study
The white-handkerchief test. Peugeot used it to show how the new particulate filters in diesels cut exhaust soot by upwards of 90 per cent. It fired up the engine of a 407 HDi sedan and held the handkerchief at the mouth of the exhaust for a minute or so. The white handkerchief pretty much stayed white. But it turned grubby indeed on a 407 HDi without the particulate filter.
Most fun at wheel
Two hours on and off a racetrack in Australia with the new Lotus Exige S. Two cars were used - one set up firmer for the track, the other softer for the street. The 935kg Exige S is a street-legal go-kart, whatever the suspension settings. Refined and raw all at once. Fabulous thing. Its supercharged 1.8-litre Toyota engine rockets it to 100km/h in 4.3 seconds and on to around 240km/h. There are compromises, like the engine noise and cramped cabin. But who cares?
Most rapid express
The Mercedes-Benz CL63 AMG is probably best suited to a high-speed run from Paris to Madrid. But it's not bad from Orewa to the Bombay Hills either. The exhaust snarl from the all-aluminium 6.2-litre V8 engine certainly turns heads. It delivers 385kW (518bhp) at 6800rpm and 630Nm at 5200rpm, enough to propel the two-tonnes-plus four-door to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds. But the cosy cabin's the clincher - it is based on the S-Class and isolates the world outside.
Most rewarding drive
Auckland-Wellington-Palmerston-North leg of last month's Energywise Rally with Volkswagen endurance race specialist, Tauranga's Maurice O'Reilly. Our 2-litre turbodiesel VW Jetta sedan averaged 5.15 litres/100km over more than 1600km, or nearly 55mpg. It was at real-world driving speeds, too - there were severe penalties for trying to rort the system.
Most predictable
Toyota's sales this year. It continues to dominate pretty much every segment of the new-car market. When 2006 figures are finalised in a few weeks, Toyota will celebrate 19 years in a row as the best-selling brand in New Zealand. Nothing to suggest it won't make 20 years. Or 30. Perhaps forever. It will soon take over from General Motors as the world's largest carmaker.
