BMW and Mercedes may have turned their back on high-revving naturally aspirated sports saloons, but Lexus hasn’t.
This is the Lexus IS500 F Sport, a 472bhp V8-powered rear-wheel drive rival for the BMW M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63, and a spiritual successor to the IS-F sold between 2008 and 2012.
But before we delve deeper into the details, let’s get the bad news out of the way: it’s not coming to the UK. The IS500 F Sport was designed primarily for the US market and Lexus GB thinks focusing on SUV and hybrid cars is a better use of its resources than trying to sell a relatively niche four-door hot rod.
Based on the 3-series-sized IS saloon no longer sold in the UK, the F Sport gets the same 5.0-litre V8 already seen in the RC F coupe, that is still available here. It makes 472bhp and 536Nm of torque and sends the lot to the rear wheels through an eight-speed automatic gearbox.
Those numbers are slightly down on those of the latest BMW M3 Competition, which makes 503bhp and 650 Nm of torque, and gets to 62mph in 3.9sec, a fairly significant 0.6sec ahead of the Lexus. But they don't look so bad compared with the non-competition M3 not available in the UK. That car has 473bhp and 550 Nm and reaches 62mph in 4.2sec.
But it’s how the Lexus delivers that performance that sets it apart. The Audi RS4, BMW M3 and AMG C63 all switched to turbo power years ago, making the F’s naturally aspirated V8 something special in its class. The Lexus might be outdragged by its rivals, but it should offer a sharper throttle response and more stirring V8 soundtrack.
Visually, the IS500 plays it a little cooler than the Lexus RC F coupe, but there are still plenty of clues to help identify it as the performance flagship of the IS range, including a bonnet bulge, rear lip spoiler and handsome 19in multi-spoke alloys covering bigger brakes and adaptive dampers.
Moving to the cabin, there are changes to the design of the pedals and the digital instrument pack, but you can bet there is no change to the usual top-drawer Lexus build quality.
The IS500 F Sport marks the end of an era. This is almost certainly the last naturally-aspirated V8-powered sports saloons we’ll ever see, which makes it particularly sad that it’s not coming here.
Keyword: New Lexus IS500 F Sport takes on BMW’s M3 - but not in the UK