Lexus shows its wild side with the new GS F

Lexus is seriously flexing its muscle by adding yet another model to its high-performance ‘F’; Line.

Cue the all-new GS F sports sedan. Sadly not destined for our shores anytime soon, we will however shortly be on the receiving end of the storming RC F (similarly engined) which blasts its way onto our roads within the next few months.

But back to the GS F. Based on the premium, mid-sized GS, this ballistic sedan breaks new ground for Lexus as the largest vehicle ever offered with an F badge.

Powered by a naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 producing a robust 348 kW and a positively brawny 527 Nm of torque, the GS F doesn’;t sacrifice fuel efficiency on the power altar thanks to the innovative use of Atkinson cycle fuel delivery (borrowed from our Hybrid models) during narrower throttle openings.

The engine is mated to an 8-speed automatic gearbox with manual-shifting capabilities and 3 modes: Normal, Sport S and Sport S+.

The vehicle’;s handling was honed at the Fuji circuit in Japan as well as Germany’;s famed Nürburgring.


Demonstrating that the GS F is more than just power dressing, it features structural reinforcements and an exclusively designed suspension system to match the car’;s enhanced output, along with larger tyres (255/35-19 front, and 275/35-19 rear). There’;s also an upgraded braking system complete with bright orange callipers.

Lexus’; Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD), also found in the RC F, features 3 operating modes: Standard (default), providing a balance of agility and firmness; Slalom, emphasising nimble steering response and agility; and Track, which enhances stability during high-speed circuit driving.

And, proving that it’;s got the show to match the go, the GS F is decked out in distinctive sports livery including an enlarged and more pronounced version of Lexus’; trademark ‘spindle’; grille, with a distinctive mesh pattern and oversized gaping air vents.

Slimline headlights with the signature Lexus L-shaped daytime running lamps complete the car’;s elegant yet dynamic face.

In profile the GS F sits noticeably lower and wider than other GS models, combining with its front fender air outlets and 19-inch alloy wheels to make it instantly recognisable as an F model.

Indoors, the GS F cabin gains an F steering wheel and a new programmable electronic instrument cluster that can be configured between 4 different displays depending on preferred driving style: Normal, Eco, Sport S and Sport S+.

Custom front and rear seats provide the vehicle’;s occupants with more lateral support.

GS F chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi said vehicles with the ‘F’; designation were created to generate a positive feeling behind the wheel for all drivers.

“With the GS F we wanted to make a special car that not only would exceed the expectations of the most discerning driving enthusiast, but also something that all people can enjoy,” Yaguchi said.

“In that way, the GS F embraces the virtues of sound, response and power, the cornerstones of the Lexus ‘F’; brand.”

To get a close-up of the Lexus GS F please click on this link:

http://www.lexus-int.com/models/GS-F/?gclid=CMvJxfS4ucMCFaHJtAodUQUAIQ

Lexus shows its wild side with the new GS F

So Funky, So French: Wild Citroën C4 Cactus Airflow 2L Uses Compressed-Air (!) Hybrid Powertrain to Accomplish 118 mpg

How does 1 polish a cactus? Eliminate the needles, of course. That’s what Citroën has done with its funky-French C4 Cactus crossover to create the Airflow 2L notion, which tends to make its aerodynamic, in-the-succulent debut at the 2014 Paris auto show next week.

Citroën shaved this Cactus for one particular cause: Fuel economy. In an automotive sense, a car’s “needles” are its a variety of drag-inducing physique pieces. Thus, Citroën streamlined the Cactus’s aerodynamics with spats around the wheel arches, a entirely sealed underbody, a rear bumper diffuser, and dynamic wind deflectors behind the rear quarter windows. Other active aerodynamic components contain 3 variable intake slats in the front bumper and shutters on the wheels that shut in accordance with rotational forces (the shutters close far more the faster the wheels turn). As is notion-automobile vogue these days, the Airflow does with out standard door mirrors, cutting drag and leaving drivers to rely solely on video feeds from every side.

All of this aero operate, combined with the Airflow’s skinny BMW i3–style “tall and narrow” 19-inch wheels, improves the C4′s aerodynamics by a claimed 20 percent. Helpfully, Citroën painted all of the Airflow 2L concept’s aero addenda a vibrant orange color to make them less difficult to pick out against the car’s white physique. Further assisting fuel economy is the C4 Cactus Airflow’s 220-pound diet relative to the standard Cactus it weighs a claimed 1907 pounds. Credit goes to the concept’s composite floor panels, suspension springs, doors, roof, liftgate, rear seats, side panels, doors, and fenders. Higher-strength steel was used in the door sills and front passenger kick panels, and aluminum replaces the typical Cactus’s far more conventional alchemy in crucial structural regions. Citroën’s obsessive quest for weight shaving incorporated thinning the tubing employed in the exhaust and replacing the panoramic roof glass with thin polycarbonate. Ultimately, the Airbumps—Airbumps!—on the side have been rendered in lightweight carbon fiber.

With much less drag to deal with, the Cactus’s offered 3-cylinder “PureTech” gasoline engine would probably be lots fuel efficient when installed in the Airflow idea, but Citroën gave it a various kind of increase in the type of its bizarrely cool air-powered hybrid system. Making use of a pair of pressurized air tanks and a hydraulic pump/motor that feeds energy to a planetary transmission mounted in between it and the gas engine, Citroën gets the rewards of a hybrid with no a heavy battery. (Head right here for a full breakdown of how Citroën’s method performs.)

The goal in all of this Airflowing, lightweighting, and air-pressurizing is hinted at in the “2L” portion of the Citroën’s name. In Europe, the efficient-vehicle holy grail is the so-named “one-liter car” it represents any automobile capable of traveling 25 km (62 miles) on a single liter of fuel. The Volkswagen XL1 resulted from the VW Group’s efforts toward such a automobile, for instance. The C4 Cactus, no matter how several aero bits are blown its way, merely can’;t match the XL1′s potential to reduce via the air, and is therefore a 2-liter auto. Nonetheless, 2 liters of fuel utilized per 25 km translates to practically 118 mpg. Not poor, yet the ideal element is how the Airflow manages to maintain the C4 Cactus’s stylish appears and desirability.

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So Funky, So French: Wild Citroën C4 Cactus Airflow 2L Uses Compressed-Air (!) Hybrid Powertrain to Accomplish 118 mpg

Watch Hyundai Demonstrate the 2015 Genesis’s Security Characteristics Unsafely in a Wild Industrial

July 3, 2014 at 2:00 pm by Steve Siler | Photography by YouTube/TestDriven and Michael Simari

Awesome vehicle ads are not uncommon, but awesome car ads that demonstrate security features—well, these don’t pop up each and every day. Hyundai has released just such a spot that may possibly just live up to our lofty standards of awesometude. The 2-minute video, which was put on YouTube by TestDriven, is called the “The Empty Auto Convoy” and demonstrates the 2015 Genesis sedan’s lane-keeping assist, radar cruise manage, and emergency auto braking features in a rather clever way.

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We don’t want to tell you as well a lot about it, as the video does have a good construct-up of suspense to it, but we can say that it requires several stuntmen, a semi truck, and the high-speed oval at Hyundai’s California desert proving grounds. Oh yeah, and the following disclaimer: “Hyundai insists that you do not, below any circumstances, try any of the following tests.” You’ll see why when you watch it, but it does strike us as curious that Hyundai would select such a blatantly risky premise for an ad about safety features.

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Watch Hyundai Demonstrate the 2015 Genesis’s Security Characteristics Unsafely in a Wild Industrial