Petaling Jaya, March 24, 2010 - Lexus Malaysia announced today that it began selling the new IS 250C, the sophisticated retractable hardtop convertible to its customers.

The new IS 250C's styling, quality, detailing and advanced safety features illustrate Lexus' core philosophy of "Pursuit of Perfection" in action, further adding to the refinement of L-Finesse concept.

Launched globally in 2009, the IS 250C became the first convertible car in Lexus Malaysia vehicle line-up offering Top-Down expressiveness with coupe-inspired styling.

The President of Lexus Malaysia, UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd, Mr Kuah Kock Heng said, "The new IS 250C will add to the existing IS range. We believe there are customers who want to own a sophisticated yet stylish car with many impressive features. We are confident that the new IS 250C will be well received in the market."

"The new IS 250C is emblematic of the Lexus "Pursuit of Perfection" and will certainly raise the benchmark in the luxury market", added Mr Kuah.

The IS 250C benefits from numerous subtle exterior and interior styling although it maintains many IS 250 features.

Featuring a convenient single-switch operation, the three-piece hard top provides open air freedom with top down in just 21 seconds without sacrificing the quiet and comfort of a coupe. Constructed primarily of lightweight aluminium, the hard top also provides surprising storage space but with low noise and increased security not typically found in soft top convertibles.

The other exterior styling includes unique front bumper and fog lamp, special LED tail lamp that emphasize on width and also a rear ducktail spoiler that improve aerodynamics. IS-C comes with a unique multi-layered 10 spoke 17" wheels.

Apart from the standard colours available for the IS range, there are three exclusive colours offered for IS 250C - Blue Metallic, Silvery Blue Metallic and Cattleya Mica Metallic.

Interior refinements as found in the IS sports sedan are maintained while new comfort and entertainment features provide a consistent atmosphere regardless of top configuration. The four-seat configuration provides each passenger with their own comfort space. The IS-C is also equipped with sports pedal, unique combination meter to reduce glare and 8-speaker premium audio surround system.

The IS 250C retains its 2.5l V6 engine with Dual VVT-i that is fuel efficient yet powerful - 205 bhp, it returns respectable fuel consumption of 10.8 km/litre with strong acceleration of 9.0 seconds from 0-100 km/h. The smooth shifting 6-speed automatic with A.I. shift selects the correct gear and shifts seamlessly to allow maximum joy of driving. Suspension settings and steering ratio are also meticulously fine-tuned and honed for the IS 250C to achieve Lexus renown comfort and stability. These characters have definitely give credibility to the IS 250C sports image.

The IS 250C equipment is enhanced with Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM), which is designed to anticipate the onset of a vehicle skid or slide and then help correct the situation with a combination of braking, throttle, and steering control in a way that is essentially transparent to the driver, to further improve dynamics.

The IS 250C is available at Lexus Center Mutiara Damansara and the newly opened Lexus Penang starting today, and is priced at RM432, 000.00 for private registration (without insurance).