Lexus has confirmed that it will soon offer a convertible version of the LC flagship coupe. The open-top model was shown as a concept car at the North American International Auto Show in January this year to gauge its potential as a production model.
When displaying the concept model, Lexus said the design goal was to express ‘Ultimate Beauty’, and it provoked an enthusiastic response from both industry experts and the public. Like the LC itself, the concept car was honoured on its debut with a prestigious EyesOn Design Award.
In action at Goodwood Festival of Speed
The first public viewing will take place this weekend in England. Visitors to this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed will be able to see a LC convertible prototype in action when it appears on the famous hill course. Nick Cassidy, who competes for Lexus in the GT500 class of the Japan Super GT series, will be behind the wheel.
Though camouflaged, the public will be able to see that the car is long, low and lean. It will share the coupe’s athletic proportions but project its own distinct identity.
Motorsports being what it is in the Malaysian context, news and publicity of our racers who compete outside the country tends to be limited. Their fans and enthusiasts will know about them but by and large, most Malaysians don’t realize that we do have some talented drivers winning races and championships.
Our new contributor, Gary Khor, talks about 6 Malaysian drivers and 1 Malaysian race team who will be participating in 3 race events spanning China and Japan this weekend. He also provides an overview of the races they will be in.
TCR ASIA : ZHEJIANG CHINA
Douglas Khoo with his all-Malaysian crewed Viper-Niza Racing team will be contesting in Zhejiang China in Rounds 5 & 6 of the 2019 TCR Asia Series (which will include the TCR China Series this weekend). This is the 4th leg in the series which has already visited Sepang (April), Zhuhai (May) and Shanghai (June).
Douglas is in his fourth season in TCR Asia and shown he has the pace to mix it with the best having out-qualified even Luca Engstler in TCR Malaysia.
Another Malaysian in the series is the winner of the 2019 Sepang International Circuit Talent Development Driver, Adam Khalid. 21 years old, Adam (below) will be in the Team Engstler VW Golf TCR. Adam came from karting, Formula 4 Asia and MCS.
The Zhejiang International Circuit, built in 2016, is in the South Eastern province of China and just South of Shanghai. It’s an undulating circuit made up of 16 corners with interesting elevation changes.
The news this weekend will also be the introduction of the latest addition into the TCR family albeit under temporary homologation. Chinese group SAIC Motor will be entering a pair of MG6 TCR’s with popular China-based racer Rudolpho Avila and Zhang Zhen Dong.
MG6 TCR
Points-leading TCR Asia and last season’s TCR Malaysia & Middle East champion, Luca Engstler with team mate Diego Moran will spearhead the TCR Asia contingent joined by WTCR campaigner Pepe Oriola, all in Hyundai i30N cars.
China TCR’s top contenders will be UK’s Daniel Lloyd, who races in TCR UK and once raced for Craft-Bamboo in the Aston Martin GT3. He will pilot the Dongfeng MacPro Racing Honda Civic FK7.
After this round, TCR Asia will head to the famous Bangsaen street Circuit in Thailand for the final rounds in late August.
BLANCPAIN GT WORLD CHALLENGE ASIA : FUJI JAPAN
A record 4 Malaysian drivers are entered in 3 race teams participating in what is arguably Asia’s best series for GT3 & GT4 cars. World-class racing cars in a world-class event with our very own world-class drivers.
After the first rounds run in Sepang and then Buriram in Thailand, the series goes to the iconic Fuji Speedway nestled in the hills. This circuit is famous for its long fast front straight and downhill section and often has changeable weather as fog and sometimes snow can descend.
Weiron Tan, who debuted last year in the WEC (World Endurance Championship) in a Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2), will be sharing an Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS GT3 with the very quick and seasoned Martin Rump and contesting in the GT3 PRO class.
Weiron Tan
Melvin Moh needs no introduction as he is easily Malaysia’s leading Endurance Race driver with several victories in 12 & 24-hour endurance races recently. In 2018, he was on the podium in all these races – the Dubai 24-Hours in a Leipart Lamborghini Huracan; the Fuji-Tec 24-Hours in an Audi R8; and the China Endurance Championships in a Mercedes-AMG GT.
He will partner Gentleman driver Daniel Au in a Craft-Bamboo Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the PRO-AM category.
Melvin Moh (Car 55)
H.H. Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahim from Johor is making his debut in Asian GT racing in the Australian Triple Eight run Mercedes-AMG GT3. It’s his first year and he is proving to be a quick learner in these very difficult cars when driven at their limits.
Australian Triple Eight Mercedes-AMG GT3
Jazeman Jaafar, another name that needs no introduction, having raced many years overseas in F2 and other machinery, recently partnered Weiron in the JC Racing LMP2 car in the WEC. Jazeman brings with him enormous experience in many types of racing machinery and will partner H.H. Prince Abdul Rahman Ibrahim in their Triple Eight GT3.
LAMBORGHINI SUPER TROFEO ASIA 2019 : FUJI JAPAN
This is a very high-speed one-make race featuring the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo which has a similar engine to the Huracan GT3.
Afiq Ikhwan Yazid winning the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final in Italy in March this year.
Afiq Ikhwan Yazid, fresh from winning the 2018 Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Final held at Vallelunga, Italy in March this year and podiums in the Suzuka round in June, will be contesting this round again. This is a PRO-AM class team and Afiq has shown blinding pace all season and has often been the fastest in qualifying.
This year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed is getting more and more amazing by the day. The latest to join the hype at the iconic race event is Lotus as they’re planning to reveal their latest hypercar and guess what? It’s called the Lotus Evija and it is a full-electric beast. (more…)
Honda Malaysia announced earlier today that they have successfully sold and registered a total of 44,200 cars for the first half of 2019. From January until June this year, it was the month of May which collected the highest number of sales at 10,500 units.
With that being said, Honda Malaysia retains its position as the leading manufacturer in the Non-National segment and second overall in the Total Industry Volume (TIV) with 15.3% contribution. (more…)
The Lister Motor Company is one of those British carmakers that thrived in the 1950s and it specialised in sportscars, becoming well known in motorsports activities. In 2012, the company was acquired by Andrew and Lawrence Whittaker who specialised in tuning Jaguar cars for enhanced performance.
Recently, the company unveiled the first example of its new LFT-C, of which just 10 cars will be built. Pricing starts from £139,000 (about RM723,000), making it the most powerful UK-built convertible on sale at this price point.
The LFT-666 coupe, launched in 2018 with production limited to just 99 units, has been universally well received with new cars being delivered around the globe. Requests for an open-top LFT-666 created the concept for the LFT-C, a car giving true supercar performance with the excitement and exhilaration of a convertible, and yet retaining the core Lister DNA of performance and driving precision.
666 bhp Lister-tuned supercharged V8
Based on the Jaguar F-Type R with a supercharged V8 engine producing 666 bhp after being Lister-tuned, the LFT-C becomes the most powerful open-top model in the 65-year history of the company. It can reach over 330 km/h and cover the 0 – 100 km/h sprint in just over 3 seconds, it is claimed.
Increased visual presence
Each LFT-C is manufactured with bespoke Lister carbonfibre body panels to give increased visual presence and a more aerodynamic profile. These unique additions comprise a new front bumper, front splitter, rear diffuser, rear lip spoiler, rear extended wheel arches and a new grille design with the improved aerodynamic qualities of each aiding the LFT-C to reach the very high speeds.
To give the dynamic elements drivers expect from a road-going Lister, the LFT-C uses the same bespoke wheels, exhaust, suspension and braking system as featured on the LFT-666, extensively tuned to suit the characteristics of an open-top supercar.
While performance is at the heart of any Lister, the new-generation of road cars also puts luxury high on the agenda. The LFT-C gets a handstitched Bridge of Weir Nappa leather interior, created to client specification, covering every element of the cabin, including roof-lining and dashboard.
