Strange Bedfellows: Lexus And Twitch Build The Ultimate Gaming Vehicle

With people spending much more time at home these days, gaming platforms are becoming increasingly popular. Not only that - automakers like Honda have even live-streamed new model debuts on Twitch, building on the commercial success of the live streaming service. Now, another Japanese brand is benefiting from the popularity of Twitch - but this time around, it is taking things to a whole new level.

Lexus has just introduced the so-called Gamers' IS. It's a full-size car transformed into a gaming vehicle with help from Twitch and input from 554,000 of its users, who voted on the modifications and tweaks made to the car. The automaker also teamed up with the fabrication experts at SCPS to build the car.

The vehicle is based on a modified Lexus IS 350 F Sport with 48 percent of the voters choosing the Infiltrate design custom vinyl wrap for the exterior. More than 55 percent of the users voted for the so-called Neon Tokyo interior style, featuring an electrified, neuron-exploding Japanese pop art aesthetic.

But the most important part, obviously, has to be the gaming hardware. A center place is taken by a custom-built gaming PC with an MSI Gaming GeForce GPU + AMD CPU. The rig has been installed in the vehicle's trunk in a sleek custom housing, highlighted by programmable RGB LEDs. There's even a fog machine, as well automated RGB lasers further enhancing the sci-fi atmosphere.

"The Twitch community dives headfirst into their passion of gaming, just as we did in designing the new 2021 Lexus IS as a pure expression of a sports sedan," Vinay Shahani, VP of marketing at Lexus, comments. "We asked for their help designing their dream gaming space, and they answered in spades. Together, we created the ultimate fusion of design and performance in automotive and gaming."

The transformation from a stock car to a gaming vehicle required the expertise and work of no fewer than 20 experts from the SCPS team. These included concept artists, designers, 3D modelers, electrical and structural engineers, metal fabricators, craftsmen, artists, custom upholsterers, and computer technicians.