Fresh air, only faster
The racy IS250C takes the IS and shaves a bit off the top, without shaving anything off of the top-end – the 2.5-litre V6 direct injection, petrol engine of the IS250C maintains its 225 km/h maximum speed. Not only fast on the road, however, the IS250C boasts the world’s fastest three-part roof opening time of 21 seconds, the speed of which is only matched by its compact storage that surprisingly caters for a large boot.
While the top-down had the potential to create wind turbulence, the pursuit of perfection mandated a redesign of the IS range’s L-Finesse to prevent this. The revised body structure and suspension of the IS250C ensures that the torsional stiffness required for Lexus’ characteristic comfort is not absent when the roof is. This means that 153-kW engine and 6-speed automatic transmission can be experienced with utmost tranquility whether the top is up or down.
The sportiness and agility custom on the IS, can be found on the IS250C as it too employs the double wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension. The comfort of riding in a convertible, though, has been ensured with a revised chassis that underwent extensive temperature, vibration and shaking tests to promise almost identical levels of Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) as the IS.