Lexus IS: 2nd Generation

Lexus Europe's press release about the new IS 250 C Convertible also included some information regarding the Europe-only 2009 IS 220d:

Refreshed interior and exterior styling represents a further evolution of Lexus’ unique L-finesse design philosophy. Modifications to suspension, steering, transmissions and paddle shift technology offer notable improvements to driving dynamics. Aerodynamics and transmission enhancements have reduced the IS 220d’s CO2 emissions by 3%, and by 8% for the Sport version.

Also attached were some extremely large photos of the upcoming 2009 IS facelift (220d edition) -- in fact, they're so large, I've made an impromptu image gallery:

It's been a rumor for a while now, but Lexus today confirmed that the IS 250 Convertible, or the IS 250 C, will be making its official debut at the Paris Motor Show.

Details are sparse, the only thing the press release was clear about was the introduction date:

Further information and images will be released at the Lexus press conference at the Paris Motor Show on Thursday, 2 October, at 2.45pm in Hall 4.

How specific!

Now that it's official, we can turn our speculation as to why only the IS 250 will be getting the convertible makeover as opposed to the IS 350 -- my feeling is that it has something to do with the manual transmission being a very strong selling point when marketing a convertible, otherwise, why wouldn't Lexus use the more powerful engine?

(Just to be clear, the above image is not an official photo of the IS 250 C.)

[Source: Autoblog]

The upcoming changes to the 2009 Lexus IS won't be causing much in the way of a price increase in the United States. The new facelift will only see a $300 jump in price, regardless of which version is purchased.

In Canada, the 2009 IS 250 RWD & IS 350 will both see a $400 price reduction, though the IS 250 AWD get a small bump of $50 to $37,650.

[Source: Lexus]

The new 2009 Lexus IS facelift has certainly started picking up some steam this week, and now we have a commercial from Japan that shows the updated model carting around Cinderella:

Nice to see the integrated turn signals in action, however brief.

Official 2009 Lexus IS photos have surfaced today, along with a promise that the mid-cycle facelift will debut at the Paris Auto Show. Before getting to the photos, though, let's do a full breakdown of the various nips & tucks:

Exterior

• Revised front bumper with reworked lower air intake and fog lights
• Expanded front grille
• Integrated turn signals in the side mirrors
• Revised taillight design with L-shaped reverse lights
• New 17" & 18" wheel designs
• New colors: Amber Pearl & Truffle Mica

Interior

• New instrument panel center cluster design
• Illuminated temperature gauge & side mirror controls
• New color and wood trim combos: Ecru (with golden brown trim) & Light Grey (with Dark Grey bird's eye maple)
• Contrasting stitching on the door panels, console lid & seats
• Carpets & Seat backs set to match color of upper instrument panel
• DC outlet and AUX input positions switched (!!!)

Mechanical

• Paddle Shifting function in D mode
• New VDIM cutoff switch for the IS 250
• Optional 18" wheels on RWD models
• Revised suspension tuning and steering

Here's the first batch of photos, I'll be adding more as time goes on:

No question now, this is the upcoming 2009 Lexus IS facelift:

These photos, posted on the same site that leaked the 2009 IS brochure, reveal the new IS in some sort of Japanese Korean Lexus showroom, presumably where unreleased models are displayed for anyone to see.

Enough talk, here's the full gallery:

[Source: Dajapa Via: My.IS]