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Toyota may return to F1 under Lexus banner

A new report in from the website Club Lexus claims to have insider knowledge about a return to Formula One racing by Toyota, this time under the auspices of the Lexus brand. Toyota competed in F1 from 2002 through the 2009 season. That final year saw the team return competitive, if inconsistent results, but the larger economic woes in the automotive market made a decision to pull the plug relatively easy at the time.
Now, citing recent interviews with Toyota executives and insider sources, Club Lexus says that the move to re-enter F1 for the 2014 season is "all but finalized." The choice to go with the Lexus nameplate over Toyota makes some sense, too, considering the success that rival Infiniti has had in recent years through its partnership with Red Bull Racing. Further, the emerging Lexus identity as a performance car builder, with a strong background in hybrid vehicles, could help the F1 move resonate with buyers.
A few technological factors and formula changes within F1 offer some credence to the Lexus rumor, too. F1 will increase the available capacity of KERS from 60kW to 120kW, a change that theoretically benefits the hybrid-savvy Toyota. What's more, 2014 will see a switch from the current 2.4-liter V8 engines to 1.6-liter turbocharged V6s. A Lexus team that goes racing in 2014 will be on a level playing field with the rest of the grid then, with all teams adjusting to and continuing to develop the new engines.

2014 Lexus IS gets TRD bits

Toyota Racing Development (TRD) in Japan has designed cosmetic and performance bits that give the 2014 Lexus IS a front-to-back workover. Different from the F-Sport parts we expect from Lexus here, the full body kit runs 437,700 yen ($4,285 US) and starts with air deflectors at the lower edges of the front bumper, through to side skirts, a decklid spoiler and a rear bumper with a diffuser and quad exhaust tips.
For 288,750 yen ($2,830) you can sharpen responses with new shocks, springs, dampers, sway bar and bracing. The priciest individual component is the set of 19-inch wheels, four of them going for 527,625 yen (5,170 US). There's no word on US importation or pricing yet, but done up all in black like the IS above, we wouldn't mind seeing it here.

Lexus RC F is a predatory sport coupe with a 450-horsepower beating heart

Take a look at that face. We can't be the only ones who see an automotive Predator staring back, right? Certainly, the Lexus RC F Coupe boasts a visually striking design that some are going to love and others are going to hate, but we can at least appreciate that it's aggressive, especially compared to the standard RC Coupe that we saw at the Tokyo Motor Show. And with good reason - there's a 5.0-liter V8 engine sitting under that massively domed hood with "more than 450 horsepower," along with a newly calibrated eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Interestingly, Lexus has tuned the RC F's engine to run on an Atkinson cycle under most circumstances, while it switches to the more typical Otto cycle when more power is required, presumably using some sort of advanced variable valve timing technology. Helping put that power to the ground with all those ponies wreaking havoc underhood is a torque vectoring differential, a first from Lexus.
Also involved in keeping the RC F planted is an aero package that includes wings and ducts galore. The headline bit is an active rear wing that deploys at 50 miles per hour and retracts back into the deck when the car drops back to 25 mph. A clear-coated carbon fiber roof can optionally join that carbon rear wing. There are apparently going to be three 19-inch wheel options, including the ones you see in our live image gallery above.