The IS350 sedan is just been certified for europe and australia and will be arriving in about 2 years start saving,
IS250/350 coupe is arriving 2years.
IS-F looks like $150000 big gap between IS250 and IS-F hence australian lexus boss said the IS350 will fill the gap.

What is the source of the info?

In 2 years time would make the model 4 years old. I would think there would be some kind of change to the car.

I hope the IS family grows cos Lexus needs more IS models to give fans more options.

Or come to NZ and bring one over from here (after owning it for a year HAHA)

Maybe its due for a minor facelift by then too

This was posted today carpoint.com.au
Look towards the bottom of the page.

INFO

I'm glad i bought it during the first couple of years cos when the facelift comes round, it could be time to upgrade.

I hope the coupe also comes in hardtop convertible.

Exciting news re: the IS350. It's somewhat of a performance bargin if the stories from Stateside are true. Could we go so far as to say that it's motor may become a 'hero motor' of choice in future for engine swaps?

IS350 coupe... omg sweet.
Folding hardtop! even better.
Bet it will cost a mint but atleast it will be under 150k we know hahaha.

nick has a good point..

If you could volunteer for a position in the third world within your company, then go to NZ for a year. You could buy the car ex-Japan and have it ready to own when you hit NZ. Put up with the whining Socialists and the Layabout Govt for a year while you blast around stunning roads you won't find in Aussie, then bring back an IS350 or IS-F as a personal inport.

Nice... That's some exciting news.

The warrenty on mine will be up around that time and it might be time to upgrade ;p

Great news about the 350.
I was told the IS-F would be about $120K when it landed in Aus. Seems to have gone up considerably, especiall given the strength of the Aussie dollar.

I doubt it'll be that much, if there is one thing that Lexus is always ahead of BMW and Merc is the lower prices.

The IS-F should be coming in around the 130K mark. Add in all the taxes and levies and I think around 140 to 145K would be a realistic price.

Still cheaper than the new M3, however for an extra 15 or 20K it might be worth having a look at the M3.

They should allow the IS-F to have a manual, this would help attract more fans.

The only bad thing about big V8's like in the IS-F is that using a manual gearbox, combined with the usually massive amounts of torque the engines put out, would be nearly undriveable, and dont expect the clutch to last very long. Think of it as using a massive turbo and only using a standard clutch. It would wear out so fast its not funny.

Which is exactly why the R35 isn't manual, and only a handful of the Ford and Holden V8s ever came out in Manual. Automatics are able to handle the torque more effectively without making the car hard to drive.

Correct me if im wrong but i think this is why none of these great modern powerplants come in Manual, Id flip out if they made an IS-F in manual!! it'd be the most awesome thing ever.

Lol all lambos, astons and ferraris come in manual and they are pretty intense compared to our piddly V8's

Ever heard of sportshift my friend? or paddle shifters? lots of those big power cars have those, and all work electronically as opposed to mechanically.

I never meant to imply all big power cars from factory have automatics, just that alot of them do, in my opinion, because it handles the power more easily, plus being alot cheaper and easier to design and replace should the need arise.

if they are cheaper with autos then why are all cars that come equipped with manuals cheaper to buy?

and please correct me if im wrong but dont manual cars usually get better 0-100 times?

and the paddle shifters in an IS250 are shockingly bad, i hate the system where the paddles just set what the top gear in the auto is, its just not fun lexus! although i will say the auto in the RX330 with the up/down shift worked alright when i was giving it a bash, but still no substitute for a good manual! :D

Manual used to dominate 0-100 but not anymore due to the invention of dual sequential gearbox.

The problem with all sequential gearbox (like in the IS250) are their throttle mapping. They are all set too conservatively but there are solutions for this like the E-throttle kit from TOM's and Blitz. You can change the throttle map to your liking.

And the rest, the old man just bought a 335i convertible and we price checked an m3 180 - 220k

The Pagani Zonda and Porsche Carrera GT both come with manual gearboxes.

Not to mention, manual gearboxes have been used in drag and race cars many times more powerful than these two examples for many many years.

No, i do believe what you are looking at is simple economics. The vast majority of buyers now drive auto only, and that includes buyers at this level. The competition also now use DSG or some form of manu-matic, so to release a manual into the wider market makes you look 'out of step' with the competition.

So, if your Nissan, and your going to pour huge amounts of money into developing a new GTR with semi-auto gearbox to match, than your not going to spend additional funds making a manual gearbox for the 15% of buyers who may choose such a thing. Rather, you'll release the car with the electronic gearbox, which gives faster 0-100 times than most drivers would manage with a manual anyway, and will make your car appeal to a wider range of buyers.

Don't forget also that so-called 'electronic' gearboxes such as the DSG are in fact mechanical gearboxes with servo driven parts, rather than parts driven by a human hand slotting a lever.

The Pagani and Carrera GT are low-volume vehicles targeted at the high end enthusiast market, and thusly have a pricetag to match.

They are also the cars i would choose, because i enjoy changing my own gears. But a good DSG will now always be faster than a manual. But that is a different discussion altogether :D

I

Agreed, and then there are the sevicing/running costs. No doubt there's a premium on the service costs of the ISF over, say, an RX or IS250, but it would still be around half the cost of servicing an M3.

BMW Servicing: we charge like wounded bulls