PubKicks

You can tell a lot about a company from the way it positions itself in the market place and Lexus have just decided to make a rather bold and dangerous move into the GT car market with the announcement that their new LF-A supercar is set for launch at the Tokyo motor show in 2009.

It certainly is a stunning car to look at, but we all know that we don’t just buy cars for the way they look, the way a car handles and makes us feel is just as important. With all the different manufacturers and models around today, people really do the opportunity to shop around to find the perfect model for them.

The new Lexus is likely to go head to head against some of the biggest name in the industry, Ferrari, Porsche and Lamborghini to name just a few, which I would imagine would provide the Japanese manufacturer with more than a few sleepless nights.

The question remains to be seen whether a Japanese car manufacturer can really compete with the European sports car market. At the moment there are very few cars from the land of the rising sun that have come close to rivalling the might of the big three, but the new Lexus might be an exception to the rule.

With talk of the car being built to be powered by a monster V10 engine, it will certainly please the likes of Jeremy Clarkson in the power stakes, but what about the thing that first attracts us, the looks. Well the rear of the car looks similar to the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, which on its own was a beautiful looking car, while the front resembles something close to the new Nissan GT-R car. Sometimes this can be a recipe for disaster, taking two wonderful looking cars, hoping to create a beauty and not a beast, but it appears that Lexus have managed to swim rather than sink.

The price bracket discussed means that the car may go head to head with the Ferrari 458 Italia which would probably not be a wise business strategy for Lexus to employ, but then sometimes in business you have to make bold strategic moves.

Whatever the future holds for the Japanese car manufacturer you certainly can’t blame them for having the guts to take the opportunity to grab a larger share of the car market away from their European rivals.