DOUBLE LEXUS PLEASURE FOR SANITY BOSS
A leading Australian music and fashion industry executive with a reputation for picking winners in business has backed his judgment by buying two new Lexus SC 430 convertibles. Sydney-based Sanity Music managing director Ian Duffell is the head of Brazin Limited, a publicly listed company that controls 300 Sanity Music stores and a 130-store lingerie chain throughout Australia.Before moving to Australia, Mr Duffell was CEO and president of the Virgin Entertainment Group in North America in the 1990s.
Like many owners of the first Lexus convertible model he placed an order for one of the vehicles months before it was launched in Australia.
Mr Duffell took his first drive of the SC 430 when he collected it from Sydney City Lexus last October and found the luxury coupe exceeded his expectations.
His ownership experience with the SC 430 soon prompted him to purchase a second for his wife.
"I've owned quite a few luxury performance cars over the years - Porsches, Mercedes and BMWs - but I wanted something a little different and the SC 430 caught my eye," he said.
Mr Duffell, a key player in the music industry, praised the SC 430's award-winning Mark Levinson audio system.
The system features a six-disc, single feed, in-dash CD changer, seven channel Digital Sound Processor (DSP) with a 240-watt amplifier pumping through nine speakers, including a dedicated subwoofer mounted behind the rear seatback and domed tweeters in the A-pillar to enhance front staging.
It is fitted with an Automatic Sound Leveliser (ASL) that automatically adjusts for sound quality and clarity in open top and closed top situations. Lexus SC 430 chief engineer Yasushi Nakagawa ensured his designers spent several weeks in the French Riviera observing the region's architecture, fashions, home interiors and lifestyle to inspire the coupe's styling cues.
The SC 430 features a retractable hardtop aluminium roof, which takes just 25 seconds to open or close.
The entire roof - including the rear glass window - folds neatly into the boot.
The Lexus SC 430 is powered by a 4.3 litre Quad Cam multi-valve V8 engine producing 210kW of power at 5600rpm and 419Nm of torque at 3500rpm.
Mr Duffell said he particularly appreciated the coupe's V8 powerplant and the overall feel of the Lexus.
"It rides very well and is very comfortable, which isn't the case with most sports convertibles on the market."
Mr Duffell also praised the DVD-based satellite navigation system.
"I've used a few other types and the Lexus system is by far the best in terms of usability and the routes it selects," he said.
The luxury coupe has a long list of standard features including luxurious Bader leather trim, a premium Mark Levinson audio system, touch-screen DVD-based satellite navigation, climate control air-conditioning with special open-top mode, heated front seats and self-levelling high-intensity discharge headlamps.