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Musings on the Motoring World

No IS F, but the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance will do nicely

If you haven’t heard the news, V8 engines are a rare treat, more so if it isn’t a card-carrying supercar. Which makes the introduction of the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance all the more celebrated. And the fact that it is a North American market exclusive, all the more painful. 

Then again, why should the world be surprised at this revelation? North America is still the last bastion of big-hearted performance metal, as Europe succumbs under the bootheel of fervent environmentalism. 

Not only that, but North American buyers were the only ones who whole-heartedly welcome Toyota’s grand luxury project. Europeans, on the other hand, were too busy sniffing their own flatulence in their British Leyland and communist-built Italian rust buckets to notice. So, sod them. Europe can cry Lexus the Danube. 

Hints of the IS F

However, the part that is perplexing commentators is its lengthy name. Considering that its 351kW 5-litre atmo V8 engine is a descendant of the IS F. And it even comes replete with the same twin stacked tailpipes. Why not name it the IS F? A car that many opinion-makers didn’t quite appreciate in its day.

Though contemporary reviewers were critical of its use of a torque converter, time was far more gracious to the IS F. Steadily Lexus’ performance sleeper gained a cult following thanks to its M3-challenging pace and M3-busting reliability. 

Considering Lexus’ JD Power Survey rank relative to its European compatriots, an IS F rebirth sounds appealing. A reliable performance sedan, who would have thunk? Instead, the hot IS sedan is the first product of Lexus’ new “F Sport Performance” branding. 

It is assumed that “F Sport Performance”, as opposed to the high trim and body kit spec “F Sport” variants, is similar in ethos to the diet-performance options seen in its German counterparts. Think Audi’s S-variants and BMW’s M Performance range. Not quite the fully-tweaked Audi RS or BMW M offerings, but still hotter than the source model. 

So, in the case of the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance, Lexus specified it with the IS RWD F Sport Dynamic Handling Package, which throws in an adaptive suspension and a Torsen LSD, as standard. Also included is a Yamaha rear horizontal performance damper to improve cornering stability and reduce chassis flex. 

Why call it the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance?

All in all, the IS 500 F Sport Performance doesn’t look like a heavily re-engineered version of the standard IS sedan. In a way, Lexus’ decision to steer clear of christening it an IS F is justified. It doesn’t sound like it is a fully-fledged performance product that could go toe-to-toe with Stuttgart or Bavaria’s best. And that is okay. 

As discussed elsewhere, making a performance product comes with sky-high expectations. Today’s performance sedan bar is set so high it is crossing into the vacuum of space. Anything less than a manic pseudo-racecar is not worth the drive time of any motoring reviewer. And the amount of resources needed to create a worthy contender is nothing less than a moonshot project.  

All that effort for a single-market only product in a rapidly-shrinking segment? No thanks. The GR Yaris was ambitious enough as it is already. And that was made possible by a stillborn racing programme. So, F Sport Performance it is. But that isn’t to say it is a cop-out. After all, as Goldilocks have taught our impressionable minds, the second-best is often the “just right” option. Case in point, Audi’s S models. 

S – more civil, less of an RS

Traditionally, Audi’s S designated models served as a quicker version of the standard models, with a less-powerful version of the engines used in full-on RS models. Not only that, but S models also lacked the extensive chassis modifications worked into their RS counterparts. To a younger, more-testosterone driven me, I couldn’t see the reason behind the S. Why settle for second-best? 

That is until I had the good fortune of giving the first-generation S5 and RS5 coupes a punt around the Sepang circuit. Now, unlike previous relations between S and RS models, the updated 2011 S5 didn’t receive a detuned version of the RS5’s 4.2-litre naturally-aspirated V8. Instead, it is saddled with a vastly different beast, a 3-litre supercharged V6. 

As expected, when it came to aesthetics, the V6 was no match to the sonorous charms of its RS superior. But the thing is, on the track, the RS5 wasn’t leaving the S5 flailing in the dust. In fact, in the hands of an amateur like me, the S5 kept an equally-skilled RS5 driver humble at every corner exit. 

See, what the S5 lacks in pace and character, it more than makes up for it in terms of sheer grunt. Sure, the S5 wouldn’t see which way the RS5 went if it were in the hands of more competent helmsmen. With an average driver behind the wheel, the S5 felt perfectly fine in sticking it to the RS5’s pace.

If you don’t dig for the full ten-tenths driving experience like most drivers, the RS5 comes across as “all show and little more go” to the S5. And if we follow the natural distribution curve, the average driver is representative of the majority. 

F Sport Performance – Trimming away the excess of performance flagships

That is where the problem of many no-holds-barred performance variants like BMW M cars lie. To get it to play ball you would have to tease it at its limits. At that point, such cars become too raucous and overwhelming for drivers who don’t centre their lives around track days and lap times. 

Of course, many get suckered into the dream of having the “best of the best” just for the bragging rights. To be the alpha male at every Cars and Coffee and win at Instagram. And that is fine. Heck, that is the cornerstone of the performance car market. Without the flex, nobody will be banking those cheques. 

But I’d argue that there is a place for a less-frenzied fast model for the calm and collected appreciator. The average performance car is already mind-bendingly fast as compared to its predecessors at the turn of the millennium.

Ironically, the successor to that very RS5 coupe taught me the virtues of a quick but less-focused performance sedan. Not everything remotely “quick” needs to be dialled up to eleven. Half-past eight works just as fine for most days too.  

In a way, that is what Lexus is aiming for with the Lexus IS 500 F Sport Performance. Maybe the demographics aren’t there to justify a full-on IS F. Maybe Lexus is preparing a hotter IS F to curb stomp the Germans. Maybe not. But that’s okay because the IS 500 got the right aesthetics in a “just right” package for everyone. In North America that is.