A Petit Le Mans class win last fall. Two Rolex 24 podium finishes, including this year. An IMSA Sprint Cup championship in 2020. Lexus is no slouch in GT3 racing.
“Lexus, a 33-year-old brand in the United States, has built its reputation on quality, durability, reliability and experience,” said Vinay Shahani, Vice President, Lexus Marketing. “Where we don’t get enough credit is in the performance space.”
Why Lexus? Why not GR?
Photography Credit: Courtesy Lexus
The parent company of Lexus, Toyota, has the GR Supra, GR86 and GR Corolla as part of its namesake brand. These are cars with solid reputations in the motorsports space. So, why not go with a Toyota in GT3 racing rather than a Lexus?
“Walk the grid,” said Jeff Bal, Lexus Senior Manager of Motorsports. “Look at every competitor we’re racing against. Every one of them is a luxury car.”
Mercedes-AMG. Aston Martin. McLaren. Acura. Lamborghini. Porsche. BMW.
Point made.
Admittedly, Bal added that Lexus has work to do to get word out about the brand.
“The LC 500, if you go to the fan experience here, there are people who ask what that car is,” said Bal. “If they’re not a Lexus owner already, they don’t know.”
Bal cites the Lexus Performance Driving School, with its lead instructor being five-time Rolex 24 overall winner Scott Pruett, as one way to turn people on to Lexus.
“[It is] about 50/50 of who’s a Lexus owner and who’s not,” Bal said of the school’s participants. “At the end of the day, [school participants say,] ‘Man, I had no idea Lexus built cars that could do that.’”
Furthermore, racing provides another way for Lexus to confirm its place as a luxury brand with solid performance chops.
“This is the highest level of sports car racing in North America,” said Bal. “This is the best opportunity to connect performance with the brand.”
Making a Street Car a Race Car
Photography Credit: J.A. Ackley
Lexus engines powered prototypes from 2004 to 2009, winning the Rolex 24 for three…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Grassroots Motorsports Online Articles…