The Changing Face (& Business Strategy) of Lexus

Believe it has been some months since the launch of the 'new face' Lexus, whom has incorporated a spindle grille to the front of its vehicle range including the new GS, RX, LS and upcoming ES.
This has increased the overall sports image of the brand, enabling it to attract a younger demographic who craved sportiness and reliability all in one package.

However, here at Slippery Tarmac we shan't delve too much into how the technicalities involving the face change but instead focus on bringing our audience the sporty quinessential of the Lexus brand.
Today, the focus will be on the Lexus IS-C, a coupe version of the reliable IS. From factory, the IS-C doesnt quite stand out from the vehicle crowd on the road, and pales in outlook comparison when compared to the coupe version of the BMW3, Audi A4 and Merc C coupe in my opinion.

 

Japanese tuner Aimgain has taken the IS-C in stock form, slammed it low to the ground, fit it up with 4 deep-dished 5 spoke rims, and put it on a weight-gainer program and the end product does look rather heavenly! Taking note that the Aimgain IS-C still retains its original grille (not the new spindle ones). What's your take?

 

 

Well, in terms of output wise, I'm not exactly sure what kind of firepower it is putting to the tarmac. A stock ISC with a 2.5L heart outputs a considerably hearty 205 horses. When compared to this particular ISC driven by Daigo Saito in this year's Formula Drift Asia, let's just say that the rear tires on this particular ISC gets worn out almost 6 times faster (do the maths and u get 1200)!

 





Formula Drift Singapore 2011

At the start of Saturday morning Practice Run,

The Pits was busy with the drifters lining up
waiting for their go-ahead

The crews of some were busy prepping the cars..

The wait at the start line is highly adrenaline-thumping for all..

My iPhone is good for certain panning shots...
capturing the Sparks Chaser is no easy task though

While the Pits was busy with all the cars launching off the Start Line, the Interactive Village was by no means any less busy...

Sparks Motorsports came with a full contingent of
performance vehicles on display at the entrance...

The Red Supra drew much attention from the crowd..
as the Supra is literally extinct on the Singapore roads!

Mitsubishi and Ralliart came in with a Evo X and the ASX...

The FD Official Booth (where I am based) saw FD enthusiasts
browsing the Limited Edition goodies...

FD caps anyone?

Taking a break from the merchandise booth
we had our fun in balancing ourselves on Telsa
E-mobility vehicle!

Eventual Podium finishers for the Singapore league....
1st goes to Diago Saito of Team Sparks Motorsports
2nd goes to Saranon Pornpatanarak of Team M150 Storm
3rd goes to Ken Gushi for Team Sparks Motorsports

Can't wait for the next league in Thailand...

Official Merchandize Sales for Formula Drift Singapore 2011

Hi All,

The official merchandize for FD Singapore 2011 is now available online. Enjoy early bird discounts prior to the actual event day. There's shirts, lanyards, polo etc for purchase!

Please visit www.rev.sg for special bundles packages. The prices quoted are for purchases made between now and the 10th June 2011. 

You may contact me here via email (lee.eeyang@gmail.com) for enquiry and reservations. 

Thanks.

Formula Drift Singapore 2011

Well it's official! The Formula Drift Singapore 2011 is back again and will be held at the Pit Building besides Singapore Flyer. Dates are on the11th and 12th June 2011!

FD 2011 Track Layout.
Click for bigger image!

Organized by ESPN Star Sports Events Management (ESS)with the support of Title Sponsor VIP Luxury Inc, this year's event will prove yet again to be one of the most highly anticipated motorsports activities to take place in Singapore. With 2011 being the fourth year in the running, this year's competition will feature a highly competitive field of drivers, both from Asia and the Pacific region.

Tickets are already available for sales through the local SISTIC ticketing website. Please visit to book your tickets.

To further spice up the whole event, there will be a Rock-the-Rabbit Festival which will feature a VIP Fashion show, a Special VIP Access only Art Gallery featuring Playboy Magazines covers of yore and a whole line up of fun-filled activities that promised to give the audience a full VIP treatment. Tickets sold separately or as a bundle in the SISTIC website.

Look forward to a sliding and smoke-filled June!!

Formula Drift 2011 Pro Championship Schedule

The anticipated Formula Drift 2011 is here again this year starting in the month of April. The schedules are as follow below:

Long Beach GP Street Course (April 8 - 10, 2011)

Road Atlanta (May 6 - 7, 2011)
Palm Beach International Raceway (June 3 - 4, 2011)
Wall Speedway (June 17 - 18, 2011)
Evergreen Speedway (July 22 - 23, 2011)
Las Vegas Motor Speedway (August 26 - 27, 2011)
Toyota Speedway @ Irwindale (October 7 - 8, 2011)


---Information accurate as per the official Formula Drift website http://www.formulad.com/ ---

Auto-Related EVENTS round the Corner

Audi Fashion Festival Singapore 

(13th - 19th May 2011) 

 

For event and ticketing information, do visit http://www.audi.com.sg/sea/brand/sg.html

 Formula One Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix

(8th - 10th April, 2011, Sepang International Circuit)

For event and ticketing information, do visit http://www.sepangcircuit.com/eticket/

Formula Drift Asia 2011

(Expected June 2011) 

Do stay tuned for the latest updates on SpeedFusionR!

SingTel Singapore Formula One Grand Prix

(23rd, 24th, 25th September 2011)

Early birds tickets, hotels and  travel packages to this annual Night Race could be found at the official SingaporeGP website http://www.singaporegp.sg/ . Don't miss this out!

Mettle Games 2011

(Expected October 2011) 

Registration details will be available soon on http://www.mettlegames.com/

Drifting Prelude

You would have probably heard of this story many times, retold and recapped....

Drifting was first dated back to Japan, where motorcycling turned race driver legend by the name of Kunimitsu Takahashi successfully applied the techniques during his racing career to achieve several wins. 

The introduction of the popular Japanese anime series Initial D serves to further stimulate the interest in drifting, resulting in an exponential interest growth for the technique globally. In today's context, drifting has evolved into a form of extreme motor sports, and international drifting events such as the D1 Grand Prix and the Formula Drift have legalized and popularized the sport of drifting. 

To any drift enthusiast, an area of much vested interest is that of the cars used in the drift itself. Drift cars are typically rear wheel driven (RWD), JDM vehicles with a diverse range of power outputs ranging from as little as below 200 horses to stratospheric 4-figures output. In the international drift scene today, you will probably witness cars ranging from the lightweight Toyota Trueno (AE86 or 'Hachiroku') to the turbocharged Nissan Silvia-s and rear-biased GTR-s to the high-output Mazda RX-7 rotaries. 

In recent years, the drift scene has also witnessed the use of American brands such as the Pontiac-s and Chevrolet-s and also Australian built V6 and V8 Holden and Commodore monsters. Many of the JDM RWD vehicles have already gone out of production long ago and the popularity of drifting has actually made these vehicles a much valued acquisition.

In summary, drifting is possibly the one form of motor sports that has acquired a large fan-base worldwide largely due to its flamboyant and thrilling show factor. Its highly competitive nature and the various techniques have earned drifting a place in the motor sports environment. Here in Drifting Reloaded, we would like to amaze you with the backstage scene that behind drifting, from the prepping and built of the drift vehicles to the latest news and updates from the international drift scenes. 

Now sit back, & enjoy the upcoming features soon!