F—ing Cool!
Toyota reinvents the Lexus with its new flagship speed machine, the IS F.
Una LaMarche
January 08, 2008
“What is F?” That’s the existential question Lexus has been hanging over our heads since January 2007, when the Japanese automaker revealed plans to introduce a performance sedan to compete with the all-powerful BMW 3 series.
Lexus has always been a superlative brand—it’s the highest-selling make of luxury cars in the States, and makes regular appearances on Consumer Reports’ top five lists—but the IS F promises to be its new flagship, a standout consonant in an already packed luxury alphabet (see also: BMW’s M, Mercedes-Benz’s AMG, Cadillac’s V, Volvo’s R, and Audi’s S and RS).
The Lexus IS series—of which the F is the newest, toniest member—has always been a looker, as well as a powerhouse when it comes to acceleration and braking, but the handling seems an afterthought, as if Lexus borrowed its motto from the Fernando Lamas “SNL” spoof: “It’s better to look good than to feel good, darling!” Luckily, all that’s changed in the IS F: The V-6 engine of the IS350 has been replaced by a V-8 cranking out over 400 hp. The engine is teamed with a modified version of the LS460’s 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters and a torque converter revised for quicker shifts and rev-matched downshifts. The suspension is also vastly improved, utilizing high-rate coil springs and hollow stabilizer bars to reduce drag. Stacked quad tips in the rear manage to look both menacing and refined. And good news for rubber-burning hot-rodders, if not for the laws of physics: the traction control finally comes with an honest-to-God “Off” setting.
Oh, and the elusive origin of the F moniker? Turns out its engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi’s nod to the original Lexus model, which in the 1980s was a top-secret project, codenamed F1 for “flagship” and “No. 1.” Consumers will find out whether it lives up to its name when a limited fleet is released Stateside this month.
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