Anyone tried the Lexus IS500?

It is a completely different category of car. Does pretty good for what it is, if a relatively inexpensive and reliable and comfortable cruiser that can outperform the average car in a straight line or around a track is what you want. But yes, the owners of 10-15 year old M3 who track their cars and run current ultra high performance tires probably will be victorious by 1-2 seconds after racing for 180 seconds. The vast majority of M3 owners, who just drive on the street, where only a few seconds of fun at a time are typically possible, might tie the Lexus.

German engineering tends to over complicate the simple and/or add features maybe unnecessary for the purpose. Japanese engineers are about efficiency and/or simplicity. It doesn't surprise me that the M3 of the past still holds a candle to todays Lexus >equivalents. The Germans lost the ground war of WWII because they're tanks were too complex to crank out in the numbers necessary to battle the Allies. Lol this shows up greatly in BMW. Toyota's little 22R motors will run through an apocalypse and then some but you won't necessarily enjoy the drive. I would expect a new RC Coupe to require a hefty amount of aftermarket parts to get the same feel of a base M3. FWIW the IMSA Lexus GTD & GTD Pro cars sound glorious and perform well amongst the rest.

No, you need to do the reverse math a bit.

If E92 M3+ PS2 was 2 sec/lap slower vs. IS500 + PS4S(?), then there was 0.67 seconds difference per 1 min lap.
Since PS4S is 0.9 sec/minute lap faster than PSS which also is 0.9 sec/min lap faster than PS2, E92 M3 will be roughly 1.12 sec/min lap faster around the racetrack, translating to roughly 3.3 seconds/lap faster than an IS 500 on equal tires.

Don't forget the weight difference as well, E92 M3 at 3550 lbs is MUCH easier to drive at the limit than a 3900 lbs IS 500. I honestly think E92 M3s will be faster than 3.3 seconds on equal tires.

pbonsalb wrote

It is a completely different category of car. Does pretty good for what it is, if a relatively inexpensive and reliable and comfortable cruiser that can outperform the average car in a straight line or around a track is what you want. But yes, the owners of 10-15 year old M3 who track their cars and run current ultra high performance tires probably will be victorious by 1-2 seconds after racing for 180 seconds. The vast majority of M3 owners, who just drive on the street, where only a few seconds of fun at a time are typically possible, might tie the Lexus.

pbonsalb wrote

New IS500 F is a half a second faster than E9x M3 on Car and Driver Lightning Lap at VIR. 3:04.9 vs 3:05.4. Just as fast in a straight line as well. Probably a great driver with less expensive maintenance and repair costs. And reasonably priced today at about what the M3 cost over 10 years ago.

But I did not even consider one. Spent more and bought an F90 M5 to replace my E90 M3. Fantastic car. No personality but I like the ridiculous speed, good comfort, decent handling, and AWD that lets you put the power down even when conditions are not perfect. Not that it matters, but I get better MPG than my E90 M3.

If being faster at lightning lap is the only criteria for performance, you can do much better than either the IS500 and e9x M3 with a M340i with a 3:03 lap time. Reasonably priced, great gas mileage and should also be less expensive to maintain as well.

The stock e9X M3 is a pretty dated criteria for comparing modern sports car lap times, you'll run faster lap times in a Civic Type R (lightning lap = 3:00 flat) than a e92 M3, IS500 or even M340i.