There’s a formula that’s been around for over fifty years: take a big engine and cram it into a small car. It even worked with Lexus. Yes, yes, I said Lexus. But Chip Fuz himself had a hand in creating this car, which means that the car is automatically considered 146% American.
So, the whole point of this prototype is this: a Lexus IS 300 was taken and a huge 4.3 liter V8 was crammed into it. Comrade Rod Millen was involved in the stuffing, and, according to him, the engine came up almost like a native one. There were no particularly complicated modifications, and since the new engine was made of aluminum and the old range was made of steel, even the weight of the car increased by only 22 kilograms. A manual transmission and a Supra differential were installed, as well as a GS 430 driveshaft. Actually, the engine was taken from the GS 430.
But the main problem was not mechanical, but electronic. Unlike the old engines, the new Japanese V8 required the development of an electronic interface that would allow it to work with the manual transmission and the IS 300 body – of course, no one put such capabilities into it during its development.
When that was done, all that remained was to add the finishing touches, like Brembo brakes, 18-inch Speed Star SSR discs, new door sills, and, of course, fresh paint. In a separate line, I would also like to mention the 720-watt stereo system with twenty speakers.
The final product was supposed to produce approximately 340 hp, which, coupled with the low weight of the car, felt like all 400. Like any prototype, this car had places that could be adjusted. It would have been possible to make the suspension tougher, the gearshift smoother, and so on, but this was not to be, and the IS 430 remained a prototype.
Source: https://autoweek.com/article/car-news/lexus-430-prototype-muscle-car-mania-hits-lexus-or-it-might-hit-japan-if-home (December 21st, 2003)
