However, not everyone is exaggerating. Some companies offer cars that are nearly impossible to recognize with only a handful of square inches unoccupied by one of the many accessories available, while others show that they can exercise restraint and come up with a more cohesive approach – and, in at the same time, more subtle – a concept which still retains a lot of resemblance to the model on which it is based.

For this year’s SEMA, Lexus’ presence definitely falls into the latter category. The Japanese company presented two exhibitions, one based on the IS 500 (called HIRAKU & TOWNSEND BELL STREET PERFORMANCE IS 500), and the other on the IS 350 F Sport (called DSPORT & SCOTT PRUETT TRACK PERFORMANCE IS 350 ).

You might have recognized Scott Pruett’s name in there. The legendary racing driver, a member of the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America but also a brand ambassador, has teamed up with DSPORT magazine to give the Lexus IS 350 F Sport a complete makeover that should ultimately make it the supreme track. armed.

What you see here is only the first phase of the project since we are mainly talking about cosmetic modifications. We all know the racing stripes add a bit of extra horsepower to the engine’s total horsepower as well, but, more seriously, the time to tune the 311-horsepower 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 will come. The team say the IS will develop more than double its current power, but we’ll have to wait until next year’s SEMA for that.

For now, however, we can only talk about things like the Unique Wrap – developed by Troy Lee Design taking inspiration from Scott Pruett’s helmet art. Underneath the film is a special body kit from Japanese company Artisan Spirits, which adds the width needed to cope with the extended track width that this IS 350 F Sport will eventually feature.

Inside, the Track Lexus features a full roll bar and carbon / Kevlar racing seats with a five-point harness configuration, both supplied by well-known specialist SPARCO. The show car also features an upgraded adjustable suspension system and carbon-ceramic brake discs. For the track, the IS will feature 19-inch black wheels (from ADVAN Racing), but in the meantime it sits on 20-inch Rotiform KPS rims finished in matte copper.

As we said, this is an on-going project, so expect to hear more from Lexus over the next few months, all culminating in the power boost promised for the SEMA show from the next year. The transformation will be massive, but the message Lexus wants to send here – in addition to emphasizing the sporty nature of the model – is that almost all of these modifications can be acquired independently and blended according to the customer’s wishes.