Lexus has chosen the Goodwood Festival of Speed, taking place later this month, as the rolling debut stage for its GS F sport sedan.
The new model will square off against rivals like the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and Jaguar XFR-S as a luxury performance four-door. A quick look at the spec sheet shows the GS F is at a significant power disadvantage by comparison to the aforementioned, but sometimes the figures don’t tell the whole story.
Lexus first revealed the GS F at the North American Internation Auto Show in January, featuring a 5.0-liter naturally-aspirated V8 good for 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque. The same engine slots under the hood of the RC F Coupe, albeit with a bit less heft to toss around. Zero to 60 mph takes about 4.5 seconds and top speed will exceed 170 mph.
The BMW M5 counters with a 4.4 liter twin-turbocharged V8 developing 560 horsepower. The Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG does one better with a 5.5-liter twin-turbo V8 and 585 horses to play with. Jaguar’s XFR-S isn’t far behind a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 and 542 hp to smoke the rear tires. If you’re following along, all of the GS F’s rivals use forced induction, and at the very least have a 75 hp edge on the Lexus. I won’t even mention the 640 hp 2016 Cadillac CTS-V; that’s just unfair.
Complementing the V8 up front, the GS F will use an eight-speed automatic gearbox to send power to the rear wheels. The chassis is far more rigid than the standard GS and its suspension and brakes have been improved for better handling characteristics. The GS F also features a torque vectoring differential and three driving modes. One advantage the GS F has over the competition is its curb weight. At just over 4,000 pounds, the GS F is at least 88 pounds lighter than the next-lightest model in its class.
As far as design, the GS F is subtly more aggressive with added aerodynamic bits and revised front and rear bumpers. In F-Sport fashion, the GS F uses quad exhaust outlets.
Pricing has yet to be announced, but expect it to be priced similar to its rivals in the $100,000 range when it goes on sale later this year.
