Enter the Lexus ‘F’ line, a performance-focused model range that’s hoping to change all that.
We got the 467-horsepower, sharply styled two-door known as the RC F last year, which boasts the angular aesthetics, sharp chassis, and howling V8 necessary to shed the brand’s once vanilla image.
Of course, we can’t forget the now-defunct LFA, a car so good Jeremy Clarkson once said “It is the best car I have ever driven. If someone gave me a choice of selecting one car, I would have a blue Lexus LFA. That is how much I love this car.”
And now, we have GS F.
Revealed all the way back at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show, the four-door GS-F uses the same 5.0-liter V8 from the RC F but shares its platform with the V6-powered GS 350 F Sport.
Like its racer boy RC brother, the GS F equips upgraded suspension, and eight-speed Sport Direct Shift automatic transmission, and a Torque Vectoring Differential (TVD) with three modes.
‘Standard’ mode, according to the company, “provides a balance of agility and firmness.” The TVD’s ‘Slalom’ setting tightens up the steering to emphasize agility, while the hardcore ‘Track’ mode “emphasizes control during high-speed circuit driving.”
Lexus’ F line has looked great thus far, but we can’t help but wonder how it will stack up against its European rivals, namely the 560-hp BMW M5. Actually, the GS F’s output is much closer to the M3’s 425 hp, but the Japanese sedan is nearly 10 inches longer and 500 pounds heavier than the 3 Series at 4,034 pounds.
The GS F is on sale now with a base price of $84,440, a figure that doesn’t include a mandatory $940 destination charge.
Updated 10-14-2015 by Ronan Glon: Added pricing information, full gallery.
