Road Strikers

Note to luxury automobile manufacturers interested in entering the performance market: The world’s strategic reserve of performance-signifying alpha characters is dwindling fast. BMW has M locked up, Audi claimed RS, Cadillac took V, and greedy old Mercedes-Benz, acting with characteristic disregard for its comrades, took A, M, and G. Thank heaven the letter F was still available, or the Lexus LS460 F Sport might never have seen the light of day. Building a Better-Behaved Beast Whereas most manufacturers choose to first work their performance magic on the engine, Lexus virtually ignored it, placing the bulk of its engineering might into chassis mods. Building on the previous LS460’s Sport package, which offered some mild suspension and brake mods with a set of paddle shifters, Lexus has taken the exercise a step further, replacing bushings, adding bracing, and tweaking the shocks for even livelier performance. The latest LS460 F Sport sits 0.4 inch lower than a regular rea...

If Lexus was late to the luxury party in 1989, then it could be considered damn near asleep at the wheel and stuck in its driveway on the way to the super-sporty-sedan soiree. It took the company until 2007 to introduce a high-performance model, the IS F, but that model fizzled, left to fend for itself without any siblings. But no more—Lexus’s second go at its performance sub-brand includes a roadmap for more models, including the new RC F coupe—and, we suspect, an IS F very soon—and this, the 2016 Lexus GS F. NOT HOT, BUT CERTAINLY WARM—VERY WARM Standing atop this new F hierarchy, the GS F is Lexus’s first ever volley at the hotter versions of the Audi A6, BMW 5-series, Cadillac CTS, and Mercedes-Benz E-class. However, the GS-based GS F is more closely aligned to the mid-level performance offerings from Lexus’s competition. That means, instead of the BMW M5 and Cadillac CTS-V, the GS F will instead face off against the Audi S6, the BMW 550i ...

Sure, it sports bulging fender flares, Porsche 959–esque slatted vents in its rear quarters, and a menacing spindle-shaped maw that looks like it inhales pavement by the slab, but don’t let the plumage fool you. The F Sport iteration of the new Lexus RC350 is really a smooth operator and more of a spiritual successor to Lexus’s first luxury coupe, the SC300, albeit imbued with the visual excitement of 2012’s hot LF-LC concept. SEPARATED AT BIRTH You’ll be excused, then, if you confuse the new RC350 F Sport with the equally new Lexus RC F. Both get Gran Turismo video-game looks on the outside and gorgeous trimmings inside; our test car’s cabin, for example, was lined with sumptuous Playa upholstery that could have been ripped from a Maserati, a fitting complement to the head-turning Ultrasonic Blue Mica exterior paint. It’s a two-plus-two, but you’ll want to be in one of the RC350’s enveloping and form-fitting front buckets, all the...

Typically, when full-line car companies set out to develop a coupe, they start with a sedan from the current lineup, trim two doors, and rewrap the package in a sleeker body. A shorter wheelbase is optional. Lexus rolled up that memo and burned it before going to work on the RC. Instead, to form its new coupe’s structure, Lexus combined the front clip of the GS sedan, the center section of the old IS C convertible, and the rear end of the IS sedan, using adhesives and welding and a fancy technique called laser screw welding, which allows for more frequent tacks and thus greater rigidity. The three-piece approach makes more sense once it’s explained. The GS front gives engineers the extra track width they wanted for handling. They deemed the IS rear sufficient to keep the car’s dimensions tidy, and the IS C center section necessary for its inherent stiffness and shorter wheelbase. Compared with the current IS sedan, the RC coupe is roughly 1.5 inches longer, wider, and...

Welcome to the core of the Lexus brand. Accounting for almost four of every 10 Lexus sales, the RX crossover is the epitome of Lexus-ness, leaving the 11 other Lexus models to fight over the remaining 60 percent. Toyota’s luxury division practically invented the car-based crossover with the introduction of the original RX300 in 1998. Lexus figured out that what most SUV buyers wanted was a wagon/hatchbacklike conveyance (that wasn’t called a station wagon or hatchback) with a slightly elevated seating position and enough metal to impart a feeling of invincibility. But really, these same buyers were yearning for the comfort and convenience of a car. In the interim, just about every other car brand (Pontiac and its disturbing Aztek excepted) successfully followed suit, offering soft-roaders of their own. Double Dose of Snobbishness With the Lexus RX450h, buyers get to merge their desire for generously proportioned crossovers with their avidity for the social acceptance that...