Lexus IS-F and GS

By Tim Pollard Motor Shows 13 September 2007 04:18 Lexus ISF: the lowdown We’ve seen the ISF before, but it’s here again in Frankfurt ahead of its arrival in the UK in March 2008. Don’t think of this 400bhp 5.0 V8 as an M3 rival, officials warn. ‘It will be more refined and comfortable, rather than out and out sporty,’ said one.

Happy birthday, Alfa: Party planned for June and you're invited

After launching a new Giulietta to celebrate its 100th anniversary, Alfa Romeo will continue the party June 26-27 with a huge rally for owners of its vehicles. The global gathering will be held in Alfa's hometown, Milan, Italy. More than 3,000 participants are expected to show up, and the festivities will include a rally through downtown Milan (filmed by helicopter), concerts and the presentation of a sculpture.

Contest: Volkswagen Slipstream wins 2007 LA Design Challenge

Volkswagen's Slipstream concept has won the fourth annual Design Challenge competition, part of the Design Los Angeles automobile designer's conference. The award was presented during the second press day of the 2007 Los Angeles Auto Show.  The theme of this year's competition, RoboCar of 2057, asked eight automotive design studios in California to form their vision of the future by depicting a vehicle that incorporates artificial intelligence engineered to make life easier and more attractive to consumers 50 years from now. Designers entered two-dimensional renderings and concept descriptions predicting how the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence will integrate into the automobile to make life safer, more practical and attractive, and the entries were judged by multi-discipline design professionals who selected the winner based on its originality of creative concept, integration of robotics and level of adaptation to a variety of environmental conditions and consumer needs.