The F Cars, Explained

"TheHondaBro" (wwaveform) 05/29/2015 at 13:07 • Filed to: lexus

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While waiting at the dealership a couple days ago, I was reading a Car & Driver magazine with !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! The story was very well written and really opened up my eyes on the future of Lexus’ performance division.

To ensure that nothing is lost in translation, Yukihiko Yaguchi pulls out his iPhone and scrolls through the photos. The chief engineer of the 2016 Lexus GS F stops on a pic of a mid-90s Toyota Chaser—a Japanese-market mid-size sedan—sporting a tiger decal on the hood and orange stripes across its roof and flanks. It’s a Japanese Touring Car Championship racer in which Yaguchi scored seat time back in 2000, but the experience sticks with him today as one of several race cars that inspired each of the Lexus F cars he’s developed.

A proper race car, Yaguchi says, is easy to drive fast. And that is exactly what he wants drivers to say about his new GS F.

Yaguchi doesn’t obsess over top speeds and quarter-mile times. Like the engines in the original IS F, the stratospheric LFA, and the RC F coupe, this 5.0-liter V-8 makes power without assistance from blowers. That’s a polite way of saying it’s down on oomph—in a big way—relative to the competition. The engine, shared with the RC F, makes its power with revs, churning out 467 horsepower at an elevated 7100 rpm and 389 pound-feet of torque at 4800 rpm. The BMW M5 produces 560 horsepower; the 2016 Cadillac CTS-V, 640 horsepower.

The satisfaction Yaguchi aims for is of the back-road variety, the kind that lets you blitz a two-lane without fear of ending your ride in someone’s living room. It’s stability and predictability—the confidence to approach the car’s limits. If the RC Fs we’ve driven are any indication, it also means a safe chassis setup that prefers to keep the tail behind the nose of the car.

Seems like the people behind the new F cars are focusing on driving dynamics and the feeling you get behind the wheel rather than performance and numbers. For me, that reinforces my belief that Lexus is doing all the right things with the brand right now.

I’m looking forward to seeing how the GS F performs.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > TheHondaBro 05/29/2015 at 13:14

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I want one, and I cannot form the words of why.

EL_ULY > TheHondaBro 05/29/2015 at 13:57

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everyone will go here and say, “what road feel? What dynamics? It’s slow and boring” As an ex Lexus master tech and one of the first F car specialists, they can’t be further from the truth. Plus, like the LFA, awesome performance and luxury without Germanitis after the 60K mile mark lol :]

TheHondaBro > EL_ULY 05/29/2015 at 13:59

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I want to drive an F car badly.

EL_ULY > TheHondaBro 05/29/2015 at 14:01

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I had one for a whole weekend 2 weeks after it was released and was told by Toyota reps to drive it hard..... best weekend ever!!!!!!

TheHondaBro > EL_ULY 05/29/2015 at 14:02

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Oh man I would have been like “Okay, whatever you say- *rips massive burnout* SEE YA SUCKERS!!”

savethemanualsbmw335ix > TheHondaBro 05/29/2015 at 14:13

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down on power? C63 coupe makes 507 without blowers...

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 05/29/2015 at 14:24

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I do not want one, and there are too many words to fit here in a timely manner why.

R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 05/29/2015 at 14:31

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Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > R Saldana [|Oo|======|oO|] - BTC/ETH/LTC Prophet 05/29/2015 at 14:39

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R-CF Hammer

Sejji > TheHondaBro 05/29/2015 at 15:04

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I agree and like the direction. However, they’re going to be dealing with the same problem as porsche soon. All their cars are down on HP and (soon all measureable numbers). At least Porsche has some heritage and can really dial in steering, brakes, and a chassis to leverage their brand. Lexus will still need to grow that image.