Speedo

Some athletes who have been sponsored by the Speedo brand include Greg Louganis, Janet Evans, Michael Phelps, Amanda Beard, Dawn Fraser, and Kosuke Kitajima.
. Analysts attribute this phenomenon to the unique and intriguing interplay of religion, conservatism and human sexuality in the US, as in an essayby Kevin Esser. Admirers point out that the IS 350 offers more performance than some year 2000 models such BMW M3 and C-class AMG, but critics continue to complain that lexus does not offer distinctly badged performance variants to compete head on with the germans. While women's swimwear remains scanty, men's swimwear has evolved into boardshorts that are baggy and long enough to reach the knees, or below. The IS 250 AWD and the IS 350 are only available with the 6-speed automatic. In the United States of America, however, the opposite trend has developed since the 1980s. The IS 250 RWD comes standard with a 6-speed manual transmission, and a 6-speed automatic transmission is available as an option.

Men of all ages wear speedos at beaches and pools in Europe, Asia, and South America. For the United States, three IS models are sold by Lexus:. Due to its apparent utilitarian value for both swimming and sunbathing, the bikini-type competitive swimsuits colloquially known as 'budgie smugglers' became popular among non-professional swimmers and beach-goers in many parts of the world. The slow-selling SportCross station wagon version was dropped from the lineup worldwide. The company also continues to manufacture recreational swimwear, goggles, earplugs, swim caps, towels, robes, sportswear and other logo clothing, watches, sandals, beach volleyball and triathlon products, lifeguard gear, and training supplies for competitive and recreational swimmers. A pre-production example was shown in the 2005 Geneva Autoshow. Their high-end suits often sell for in excess of $300 American for the Fastskin 2 series. The IS was redesigned for the 2006 model year and was introduced in the fall of 2005.

Though it still manufactures the traditional briefs and racerback designs that made the company famous, Speedo's latest competitive swimwear designs incorporate suits that provide greater coverage to the arms, legs, and even full body for their top end lineup. With the introduction of the Lexus name in Japan, the Toyota Altezza moniker is no longer used. The designs employ new fabrics that the company claims will reduce resistance in the water by replicating biological skin characteristics of various marine animals such as sharks. The IS200 fared better in Europe and Asia, but still fall well short of the sales volume achieved by the likes of the BMW 3 Series. During the late 1990's the company turned its attention to its aquablade and fastskin product lines of competitive swimwear. In the US market, after hitting a high of 22,486 units in 2001, IS sales dropped below the 10,000-unit mark in 2004. During the 1970's and 80's new fabrics such as lycra were incorporated into the company's swimwear design. and European sales of the Lexus IS 300 were disappointing.

The company quickly expanded into the international arena from there until the present, boasting that 70 percent of swimming medals were won by athletes wearing its products in the Olympic Games of 1968, 1972, and 1976. U.S. The 1956 Olympics in Melbourne saw the widespread debut of the new fabric and the introduction of the style of men's briefs that has become associated with the brand. A Lexus IS 200, based on a heavily modified RS200, has also raced in the British Touring Car Championship with limited success. In 1955 Speedo introduced nylon into its fabric for competitive swimwear. The RS200 is also used by many racing teams, including TRD (Toyota Racing Development), to race in various touring car championship series across Asia. Speedo resumed production after the war and became a publicly traded corporation in 1951. Naturally, a number of Japanese tuning firms, including Toyota's own TRD, offered parts and sometimes complete car conversions.

During World War II the manufacturer shifted nearly all of its production to war materials such as mosquito nets. TTE also produced an aftermarket supercharger kit for the IS 200, raising the power output to 204 PS ECE (150 kW). The name was made up by a Captain Jim Parsons who won a company competition with the slogan "Speed on in your Speedos.". In Europe, Toyota Team Europe (TTE) shoehorned a supercharged 4.3 L V8 into a IS 300 bodyshell, the result is a 405 PS ECE (298 kW) saloon capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds. In 1928 the name Speedo was first adopted after the firm developed its racerback design of swimwear making it one of the first manufacturers to specifically produce athletic designs. Lexus dubs the IS 430 a one-off with no plans for production. The company was founded in 1914 by hosiery manufacturer Alexander MacRae as MacRae Knitting Mills in an effort to expand his company into swimwear. The IS 430 prototype is an IS 300 fitted with a 4.3 L V8 from the Lexus GS 430.

. The MillenWorks-built Lexus IS 430 was unveiled at the 2003 SEMA Show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Its trademark is a red boomerang-shaped logo. TTE converted an IS 200 first, and within a few years RMM in the US converted an IS 300. Speedo is currently the world's largest selling swimwear brand and manufactures products for both recreational and competitive swimming. As a result, a number of tuning companies modified the IS/Altezza over the years. Speedo is a swimsuit manufacturer that began on Bondi Beach near Sydney Australia. The altezza engine block is of aluminum construction whereas the Celica 3S-GE is of an iron block construction.

There are a wide availability of tuning parts, as the engine is similar to the last of the SW20 MR2 and ST202 Celica. In Japan, the RS200 version is more popular due to its better handling (because of the lightweight yet powerful engine in the front). Modified versions of the 2JZ-GTE have been seen with over 1000hp. The Altezza is mostly popular amongst tuners because of it's possible engine swap, for a last generation Toyota Supra 2JZ-GTE motorisation.

because of this. The 2JZ-GE powered IS series are popular amongst tuners in the U.S. and Europe) were only available with either the 1G-FE engine version or the 2JZ-GE 6-cylinder inline engine version, which was also found in the naturally-aspirated fourth-generation Toyota Supra and Lexus GS/Toyota Aristo amongst others. European and North American-market Lexus IS vehicles, as well as the Japanese hatchback version called the Gita (called Lexus IS Sportcross in U.S.

The Altezza came in 3 variants:. The Lexus IS 200 made its debut in Europe in 1999 and the IS 300 in North America in 2001. This first-generation Altezza (codename XE10) was launched in Japan in October 1998. Its main rivals are BMW 3 Series and Nissan Skyline/Infiniti G.

The Lexus IS (originally known as the Toyota Altezza in Japan) is a compact luxury sports car from Lexus. IS 350 - 3.5 L 2GR-FSE V6, 306 hp (228 kW), Rear wheel drive. IS 250 AWD - 2.5 L 4GR-FSE V6 with all wheel drive, 204 hp (152 kW). IS 250 - 2.5 L V6, 204 hp (152 kW), Rear wheel drive.

The AS300 (Chassis code JCE10, sedan or JCE15, wagon) powered by the 2JZ-GE inline-6 engine generating 220 PS JIS (162 kW) or 215 hp SAE (160 kW) and mated to a 6-speed transmission (5-speed automatic optional). The RS200 (Chassis code SXE10, sedan or SXE15, wagon) powered by the 3S-GE inline-4 engine generating 210 PS JIS (154 kW) and mated to a 6-speed transmission (5-speed automatic optional). The AS200 (Chassis code GXE10, sedan or GXE15, wagon), powered by the 1G-FE inline-6 engine generating 160 PS JIS (118 kW) or 155 PS DIN (114 kW) and mated to a 6-speed manual transmission (4-speed automatic optional).