Back in the 1930s, a Captain George Eyston decided that he wanted to set a new land speed record. So, he gathered a team of engineers to create the monstrosity known as the Thunderbolt and proceeded to set three land speed records at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Weighing almost 6,400 kg, the Thunderbolt’s body was made from aluminium and had a blunt, heavyset profile topped with a large triangular tailfin. Commonly described as the ‘behemoth’ or ‘leviathan’, the Thunderbolt is twice the weight of

Even though James Bond is always associated with Aston Martins, MI6’s finest agent has been driving all kinds of cars including BMWs, Lotuses, a Ford Mustang, and even a Toyota. But what if agent Bond followed Wakanda’s loving king in getting a Lexus? This design is one of the entries challenged by UK’s Autocar on the postgraduate students of Coventry University’s renowned automotive and transport design course. The challenge is to envision what a Bond car might look like in 10 years’ time. Call

Japanese police cars aren’t just limited to the run-of-the-mill Toyota Crown or Toyota Prius, as certain prefectural police forces have far more potent cars in their fleet. Unlike other prefectural police departments, the Tochigi Prefectural police force has the most interesting fleet of cars, which includes Japanese icons like the Lexus LC 500, Nissan GT-R, and Honda NSX. Honda donated the NA1 Honda NSX to the Tochigi Prefectural Police force in 1992, while the R35 Nissan GT-R was donated to th

Making its first debut as a production car in 2017, the Lexus LC 500 is Lexus’s idea of what a grand tourer should be. The “LC” itself stands for Luxury Coupe. The year 2020 sees a huge number of enhancements on the LC 500 in terms of safety, luxury, and performance. Inside the luxurious cockpit, one sits behind a 5.0 litre V8 by Lexus (2UR-GSE) producing 470 horsepower and 540 Nm of torque. Weighing just under two tonnes, this luxury grand tourer is rather quick with a 4.4 seconds 0-100km/h tim

In the spirit of Kaizen, or continous improvement, Lexus has just given its flagship LC Coupe an update. Changes are relatively minor and the exterior is largely untouched. One of the changes highlighted is the reduced unsprung weight by around 10 kg. This is achieved through the use of aluminium lower arms, light anti-roll bars, and new material for the coil springs. The 21-inch forged alloy wheels are also lighter than before. On top of making the suspension parts lighter, it has also been cal

Grand tourer or GT is a phrase to describe cars made for high speed cruising, combining performance and luxury. Traditionally, most GT cars are front-engined and are heavier, which blunts agility and nimbleness. This is where the 2019 McLaren GT pulls an advantage over traditional GT cars. McLaren’s take on a GT car is to combine luxury, practicality and agility. Priced at RM 908,000 (without tax and options), the McLaren GT is motivated by a 4.0-litre twin turbocharged V8 that makes 620 PS and