iM Feature: Chuck’s Supercharged 2007 Lexus IS350

Back in the day, there were a few categorizations of car. One of them was ‘Luxury’. A usually expensive name brand car with leather seats, a nice soft cushy ride, a large amount of sound deadening, and buttons to control a bunch of things in the car that weren’t really needed, but made you feel right at home. Another one of the categorizations was ‘sporty’. These were the cars that were quick, but at the same time were louder, with a harsh back breaking ride, and nothing but the essentials.

Nowadays, these lines are blurred. There are all kinds of car groups these days that have blended the lines. What was once a separated SUV and Sedan category has blended into crossovers. And in keeping with the theme, there are now also a bunch of luxury sport sedans. These cars come from high end manufacturers, with tons of power like their sport forefathers, but also comes with a whole host of luxury features.

One of those cars is the Lexus IS350. A mid level luxury sedan that rode very comfortably and sporty at the same time, with the power to back it up with a 3.5L V6 engine which was named in Ward’s 10 Best Engines list in 2007. With this in mind, Chuck opted to build upon this with this IS350 you see before you, which by the way, has seen a few transformations.

Taking the IS’s good looks a few steps further, a few choice parts were added to the mix. A Vertex front lip and side skirts, along with a custom ISF rear bumper conversion help make the bodywork come a little closer to the ground. Also on the back end are a Wald trunk spoiler and a Jun-TW roof spoiler. A few more subtle additions to add to the overall picture are JDM window visors, LX Mode front grille, VIP puddle lights, a custom painted black/gold pearl roof, and a 2012 ISF LED headlamp upgrade. More lighting changes come in the form of Garax 6000K low beams and fog lights, and VLEDs LED DRLs.

To improve in the handling department, a set of BC Racing coilovers were added to all 4 corners, complimented with a set F-Sport front and rear sway bars, and an LSD to keep the power to the ground. Braking duties to slow this beast down are provided by a set of Stoptech Drilled Rotors with the 4 pot calipers. To finish things off, a set of Work Varianza T1S wheels with a step lip in Machine Silver Polish were added to complete the look and compliment the pearl white paint beautifully.

Stepping into the office, you will find Junction Produce neck pads and pillows, an F-Sport carbon fiber shift knob, and white Lexus illuminating door sills. Sounds are provided by JL Audio in the form of a 1000/2 amplifier, full components and tweeters, and a W7 12″ subwoofer. Hardwired into the rear view mirror, you’ll find a Valentine One radar detector on duty to watch out for radar traps.

But what good is all that without the power to back it up? The biggest answer to that is the addition of an LMS Procharger intercooled supercharger. Adding to that is an HKS SSQV blow-off valve, PPE Jet Hot coated headers, a custom titanium mid pipe, and GReddy titanium quad exhaust. But you wouldn’t know it looking under the hood because most of it is covered up by a custom paint matched pearl white engine cover.

A few more things are on the way this year for this IS350 including a Wald carbon fiber rear diffuser and an HKS FCon VPro to help with the tuning. Is Chuck done with this car? Like the rest of us enthusiasts, not even close. From what I’ve heard it may go through another transformation. But I’m sure he’ll stay focused and will not stop unless it is where he’s happy with it. By from previous experiences with my own projects will tell me… never.