New Sriracha-Inspired Lexus Comes With a Trunk Full of Hot Sauce

Sriracha, the spicy, bright red Thai sauce — which has been the star of EDM festivals and appears in so many dishes some people are sick of it — is now drivable. Lexus has unveiled its latest custom car: a 2017 Lexus Sriracha IS. And it even has sriracha in the paint.

The auto-maker partnered with Huy Fong Foods on the car, which will be on display at The Los Angeles Auto Show from November 18 through 27 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Sad news: The car is not currently for sale.

“We wanted to work with the original and were pleased that David Tran at Huy Fong Foods was open to collaborating with us,” says Mariko Kusumoto, Lexus national marketing communications manager, via a spokesperson. “If you’re a fan of sriracha, you know that the rooster bottle, green cap, and pure spiciness can’t be replicated and fans of the rooster sauce won’t settle for anything bland. It was a perfect pairing. This is our first food-inspired car and don’t have any other foodie cars planned right now.”

The specially modified vehicle comes complete with a number of modifications, right down to the paint job. According to a press release, Lexus experimented with a range of mixtures and methods, “including adding sriracha sauce to the paint itself,” to create the custom red color — which, naturally, comes with “flecks of chili-like flakes.”

Lexus/Official

But the chili sauce theme extends to the interior, too. The steering wheel, for instance, has been injected with a Sriracha-like liquid that was then cast in resin, and comes complete with a warning for “Hot Handling.” And then there are the temperature controls, which go from cool to “Sriracha hot.” The car’s sport drive mode has also been re-named. No, seriously:

Lexus/Official

There are also green accents (to mimic the bottle’s cap) and seats embroidered with the Huy Fong rooster logo. So drivers are literally driving a bottle of Sriracha on wheels. In fact, the trunk comes stocked with 43 bottles of Sriracha and, if that weren’t enough, the key fob includes an emergency button that dispenses the sauce from a nozzle on the fob.

From start to finish (including design time), the project took about 12 weeks, according to Kusumoto. As far as dollar value, she says the company hasn’t calculated the cost of the custom Lexus, “but we feel like you can’t put a price tag on a car that makes your mouth water.”

For now, the car is just a display model and Lexus says it has no plans to sell it or auction it off. As for future versions of trendy, food-influenced cars, we have some other ideas: How about a poke-inspired Porsche, a cronut-inspired Cadillac, or a gluten-free Mercedes G-wagon?

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