Test Drive: Lexus IS-F
With stringent CAFE regulations forcing auto manufacturers to produce cars that are more efficient and deliver greater fuel economy, sport sedans powered by normally aspirated V8 engines are being shown the door in favor of smaller displacement turbocharged engines. You’re starting to run out of choices if you really want a stonking four-door sports sedan with a naturally aspirated V8, but there are a couple of them still around, including the Lexus IS-F.
Lexus is not exactly the brand that comes first to mind when you think sports sedan, but there areplenty of engineers at Toyota that are performance-minded enthusiasts and enjoy nothing better than taking the fight to BMW, Mercedes and Audi in the premium sports sedan market. The IS-F is largely the creation of engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi, a 30-year Toyota veteran who was involved in the creation of the first two generations of the Lexus LS sedan, as well as the Toyota Supra and the first Lexus GS sedan. Yaguchi created his own small team to develop and build the IS-F, which put in plenty of testing and development time at tracks like the Nürburgring Nordschleife, Circuit Paul Ricard, Laguna Seca and its home track, Fuji Speedway.




David Haueter