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Lexus teases ‘track-ready’ F-badged car ahead of the Detroit Auto Show

new lexus f car teaser images detroit auto show 15naias 001
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Lexus, you really know how to start an argument.

Teaser images are nothing unusual on the eve of a major auto show, but today the luxury automaker dropped two images of a planned reveal, as well as saying juuust enough to get the speculative gears churning.

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Lexus announced that a second vehicle will be added to its F performance brand, along side the recently launched RC F. This second F-badged car will be “track-ready,” and fully revealed to the world at the Detroit Auto Show. We’ve already begun guessing.

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Image used with permission by copyright holder

One could speculate that it’s a replacement for the IS F, the Japanese automaker’s popular compact sedan that housed a 415-horsepower 5.0-liter eight-cylinder engine and kicked off the F line of sporty Lexii.

Still, it could very well mean that the GS midsize sedan could be getting some high-powered upgrades. Swapping out the existing 3.5-liter six-cylinder in lieu of the RC F’s eight-cylinder wouldn’t be much of an effort, and the four-door already receives the F Sport performance package upgrades. Who’s to say Lexus won’t take things a step further?

Still, “track-ready.” Hmm.

Lexus is no stranger to the motorsport paddock. It’s supplied engines for Daytona Prototype race cars in the past and have seen many of it’s cars take to the track in GT series races. Could this be a track-kitted version of the already existing RC F?

Judging by the photos, and the fact that there would be much more fanfare around it, this isn’t the second coming of the LFA or a vehicle of that caliber. These photos imply something built around an existing model, leaving us back where we started: this could be anything, and now the wait for the Detroit Auto Show just got a little more difficult.

Alexander Kalogianni
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex K is an automotive writer based in New York. When not at his keyboard or behind the wheel of a car, Alex spends a lot of…
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