Lexus' IS350 is in the frame

Look what one eagle-eyed Auto Express reader spied while out for a gentle Parisian stroll! It's the all-new Lexus IS350 saloon - complete with accompanying film crew - being shot for a forthcoming marketing campaign on a quiet street in the La Defense area of the French capital. This is the equivalent of London's Canary Wharf business district, and the bizarre scene took place on a Sunday morning, with bosses keen not to attract too much attention.

Auto Express Car Reviews

09th August 2005

But that didn't stop local resident Andy Whitehead. He told us: "I was out for a walk when I noticed a car parked up with a cover over it and a couple of film crew vans off in the distance. Then they began filming this Lexus - although I couldn't make out exactly what it was.

"I managed to get a few shots, but just after I began snapping, one of the crew members saw me and started shouting, 'No photograph, no photograph!'" Andy decided that was the time to beat a hasty retreat.

The IS350 is a bigger-engined version of the IS250, which Auto Express drove in issue 864, and is equipped with a 3.5-litre V6 delivering 310bhp. A UK launch date for the more powerful machine has yet to be announced, but the IS250 appears in showrooms in November, with prices estimated to start from ΂£25,000.