Thanks to global warming and air pollution, the mighty V8 is slowly preparing for an exit as more and more automakers prefer to ditch it in favor of smaller engines paired with turbochargers and/or electric motors.
Lexus, thankfully, is not ready to do that yet as it recently developed a new V8 it tries to fit in more than one of its models. After the RC F from last year, next in line comes the GS F that we see here at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in flesh and bone for the first time.
Although 90 percent of the sedan we see here is basically the current Lexus GS you can buy right now, the automaker managed to turn it into a gorgeous beast. Same as it did with its older performance sedan: standard IS - meh; IS F - omfg, cool, sweet V8, x0x0x0.
Same happened with the GS F now
As the first presentation video showed us here just before pulling the wraps off, Lexus “injected” the standard GS sedan with blue F-tosterone, which helped with the morphing.
On the outside, the GS F comes with a wide-mouthed front end, similar to the one on the RC F, new LED headlights, unique designed multispoke rims, a huge side vent just behind the front wheels, blackened out taillamps as well as a new rear bumper and iconic stacked dual exhaust tips.
Stepping inside, the main changes are the new sport seats and some carbon fiber trimmings. But the biggest change lays deep under its skin.
The suspension and steering have been upgraded for sport handling as well as the brakes, which now feature huge 6-piston orange calipers. While Lexus boasted about the hue of the calipers during the press conference, it's interesting how they didn't go with active suspension, choosing passive dampers instead. We asked them about this and were told that Lexus engineers found an ideal setup for the passive suspension, so they didn't feel the need for adaptive hardware. Speaking about the connection to the road, Lexus said the ground clearance sits at about 5.1 inches (130 mm). While the value isn't officially official yet, this is great given the muscular credentials of the sedan.
All of these happened because the hood shields a naturally-aspirated 5-liter V8 powerhouse, making 467 hp and 389 lb-ft (527 Nm) of torque.
Yeah, it’s the same one on the RC F and is mated to the same eight-speed gearbox and the final limited slip differential with optional torque vectoring. This can be set for three driving modes: Standard, Slalom and Track.
How long until you’ll try them out? Well, Lexus group vice president and general manager Jeff Bracken here says the GS F will hit showrooms towards the last part of 2015. As for the European side of the V8 affair, Lexus hasn't mentioned any dates yet.
Racing grade
As with the RC F coupe, the GS F comes with structural reinforcements to increase rigidity and the Nurburgring served as it’s testing grounds for months, along with the Fuji Speedway in Japan.
And speaking about the track-honed machines, Lexus wanted to give us another look at the RC F GT3 racing coupe it plans to as part of the international GT3 competition in 2015.
The white beast made its appearance on the stage right after the GS F got presented and, unlike Accura at the NSX unveil yesterday, Lexus actually revved the GT3’s V8 quite hard, filling the booth with sweet rumble and burnt racing fuel smell.
It’s also quite interesting to go near the RC F GT3, open its door and see it still has the luxury dashboard clock there along all that hardcore racing equipment.
On another story level, the automaker introduced their new Lexus Racing logo here and Jeff showed us how it looks better as he tattooed it on his left forearm! How cool is that?
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