This Concept Brought To You By The Letters T,M,G,L,S, And Probably A, Too

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth
this concept brought to you by the letters t m g l s and probably a too

My experience with the Lexus IS-F was both impressive and rather sterile. I was put in mind of Samuel Johnson’s observation regarding Milton’s Paradise Lost: “[it is] one of the books which the reader admires and puts down, and forgets to take up again. None ever wished it longer than it is.”

The same might be true of the IS-F… but here’s a fast Lexus that’s not just longer, it’s wider. And taller. And just plain big.

From Toyota Motorsport GmbH, a fully-recognized partner of the Big T themselves, comes this “TS-650”. It’s obviously a pre-facelift LS460 that’s been tuned, tweaked, quad-piped, and so on to create a big [s]Toyota Celsior Bongo Funtime[/s] Lexus for the autobahn. The most fascinating part of the vehicle, other than the mere fact of its existence (cf. another Samuel Johnson quote) would be the gorgeous twin-turbo V-8 which is claimed to rev to a totes awesome 9000 rpm and produce 641 horsepower.

The TMG TS LS probably has a Bret Easton Ellis’s chance of actually entering production, but it has to be on everyone’s mind that there is ample precedent for a factory-affiliated speed shop to make big bucks by hopping-up staid production sedans. “TMG”, after all, sounds a lot like “AMG”, doesn’t it?

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  • Raph Raph on Nov 28, 2012

    Hah, Ford called, they want their GT500 heat extractors back.

    • Dolorean Dolorean on Nov 28, 2012

      BMW is on line two. They want to discuss the obvious theft of the Hofmeister kink in the C pillar and the 5 series side profile.

  • HiFlite999 HiFlite999 on Nov 28, 2012

    Lexus, Infinity, Lincoln, and to a large extent, Volvo, now have naming schemes so complex and ridiculous, I don't even attempt to learn them. Amorphous blobs all.

  • Art Vandelay Dodge should bring this back. They could sell it as the classic classic classic model
  • Surferjoe Still have a 2013 RDX, naturally aspirated V6, just can't get behind a 4 banger turbo.Also gloriously absent, ESS, lane departure warnings, etc.
  • ToolGuy Is it a genuine Top Hand? Oh, I forgot, I don't care. 🙂
  • ToolGuy I did truck things with my truck this past week, twenty-odd miles from home (farther than usual). Recall that the interior bed space of my (modified) truck is 98" x 74". On the ride home yesterday the bed carried a 20 foot extension ladder (10 feet long, flagged 14 inches past the rear bumper), two other ladders, a smallish air compressor, a largish shop vac, three large bins, some materials, some scrap, and a slew of tool cases/bags. It was pretty full, is what I'm saying.The range of the Cybertruck would have been just fine. Nothing I carried had any substantial weight to it, in truck terms. The frunk would have been extremely useful (lock the tool cases there, out of the way of the Bed Stuff, away from prying eyes and grasping fingers -- you say I can charge my cordless tools there? bonus). Stainless steel plus no paint is a plus.Apparently the Cybertruck bed will be 78" long (but over 96" with the tailgate folded down) and 60-65" wide. And then Tesla promises "100 cubic feet of exterior, lockable storage — including the under-bed, frunk and sail pillars." Underbed storage requires the bed to be clear of other stuff, but bottom line everything would have fit, especially when we consider the second row of seats (tools and some materials out of the weather).Some days I was hauling mostly air on one leg of the trip. There were several store runs involved, some for 8-foot stock. One day I bummed a ride in a Roush Mustang. Three separate times other drivers tried to run into my truck (stainless steel panels, yes please). The fuel savings would be large enough for me to notice and to care.TL;DR: This truck would work for me, as a truck. Sample size = 1.
  • Ed That has to be a joke.
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