Japan strikes back

Taking on BMW’s up-coming M3 and Mercedes’ future C 63 AMG, the new IS 500 is certainly appreciated by sport-saloon fanatics. We haven't seen or heard much about it lately, but it appears as though the V8-powered Lexus IS 500 is still an ongoing project. This prototype spotted on the Nürburgring is clearly no ordinary IS 350 given its deep front air dam, extra large boot lid spoiler and two pairs of exhaust pipes. On top of that, we just heard a rumour that the new LS 460 will be the first Lexus with an electronic stability control system which can be deactivated. We can only hope this high-powered IS will be the next nanny-less Lexus headed our way.