We've already mentioned that the company has a drag strip behind their main building but that's just the start of the Lone Star Motorsports Park racing facility they hope to build. The first phase of the track is set to be approximately 1.75 miles long with a 1.06-mile second phase and two small connections. The combined long track should have a maximum length of 2.54 miles of racing surface. One of the features they're hoping to build into the track is a separate entrance for celebrities (Nicholas Cage, for instance) who own the extreme cars but don't necessarily want to get hassled in the pits by dudes who totally loved National Treasure.

(also see our tour of Hennessey HQ, Hennessey Challegner SRT600 Exclusive First Look and Weird Hennessey Vehicles)

Mystery Lexus at the Nurburgring Nordschleife from MrBTG on Vimeo.
[BridgeToGantry]

It makes sense, given that there's an Audi A4, BWM 3-series and Mercedes C-Class convertible. Why not an IS?
[Club Lexus via The Passionate Pursuit]

Why You Shouldn't By This Car:
As hyper-good as the IS-F is, it doesn't electrify the driver the way an Audi RS4 does. The Lexus is like sticking your fork in a 110 volt socket; the Audi, 220. The IS-F jumps through every hoop and excels at every trick, but you just don't feel as much of the car as you should. Logically, I understand paddle shifting and all the benefits contained therein, but emotionally I'm left lusting for a proper manual. You have to open the sunroof to hear the glorious engine and serious hoons hate sunroofs. And forget cracking the window, as an IS design flaw is the blast of wind noise in the ear that accompanies said action. Ugly, fake tail pipes. No one that digs factory tuners cares that you're driving a Lexus.

Suitability Parameters:
Speed Merchants: Yes
Fashion Victims: No
Treehuggers: No
Mack Daddies: No
Tuner Crowd: Yes
Hairdressers: No
Penny Pinchers: No
Euro Snobs: No
Working Stiffs: No
Technogeeks: Yes
Poseurs: Yes
Soccer Moms: No
Nascar Dads: No
Golfing Grandparents: No

Also Consider:
· Audi RS4
· BMW M3
· Cadillac CTS-V
· Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG

Vitals:
· Manufacturer: Lexus
· Model tested: IS-F
· Model year: 2008
· Base Price( est): $59,995
· Price as Tested: n/a
· Engine type: 5.0-liter V8
· Horsepower: 416 hp @ 6,600 rpm
· Torque: 371 lb.-ft. @ 5,200 rpm
· Red line: 6800 rpm
· Transmission: 8-speed "direct shift" automatic
· Curb Weight: 3,774 lbs.
· Tires: Michelin Pilot Sport Cup II
· Drive type: RWD
· 0 - 60 mph: 4.6 Seconds
· 1/4-mile: 13.0 seconds
· Top speed: 170 mph (electronically limited)
· Fuel economy city/highway: 17/23
· NHTSA crash test rating: N/A

[Part 1] [Part2] [Part 3]

Interior Design: ***
The bulk of the cabin is essentially carried over from the lesser IS models. While a nice break from carbon fiber, the weaved aluminum trim is still on the gauche side. Our real gripes are with the seats and the floppy paddle shifters. While the white leather arseholders (Alpine in Lexus speak) are fantasticly comfortable, and an improvement over the base cars' seating, but a vehicle capable of pulling 0.93g requires a lot more bolstering. The paddles are way, way, way too small. I have large hands and I had trouble reaching them. Also, they move with the steering wheel, which is bad for a number of reasons (like if the airbag goes off with your arms crossed, your forearms will be blown through your skull).

Acceleration: *****
As it is, 371 pound-feet of torque makes this puppy fly. When the transmission is in manual mode, you are controlling the shifts; the torque converter only saps power in first gear. Once you click into second, the transmission connects directly to the wheels. Lexus quotes zero-to-60 times of 4.6 seconds. That's fast by any yardstick. We still claim that with the grip of wider wheels, that number would fall. But is there any way 45 mph to 65 mph in 2.2 seconds is not a five-star proposition? Moreover, the IS-F is so bloody fast there's nowhere within a 25-mile radius of Downtown LA where you can drive it hard for longer than 12 seconds. Just to rub it in, this is one of the best sounding engines in the world. V8 brutality at its symphonic best.

Braking: *****
Ninety stars. Kidding! But if I could give those gigantic Brembos six stars I would. I've never experienced better brakes. Nuff said.

Ride: ****
Lexus was trying to sell us that the IS-F's target audience is WRX/STI and EVO owners that are all growed up and looking for something more serious. Well, despite the lack of turbo boost, all-wheel-drive and a manual tranny, one thing familiar is the extra stiff ride. This ain't your rich aunt's Lexus. Now, I happen to love stiff-riding performance propositions (and own a WRX) most of the time. Hence only four stars. Cause if you do go across broken pavement, your teeth will chatter.

Handling: *****
Probably the most surprising aspect of the IS-F is its handling. I mean, who can't built a powerful engine? But making a car dance, well, that's something else entirely. Especially considering how unsporting the IS 350 is compared to a Bimmer or an Infiniti. The IS-F however, eats up turns. There's a touch of on-center slack in the wheel, but once you start turning in, the steering is quite precise. Like, German precise. We'd love more feedback, but then again we'd always love more feedback. The IS-F can take a scary stupid amount of speed into a corner, and get you out safely around the apex.

Gearbox: ***
That's right, just three. Now, please understand that this is the best automatic transmission I've ever experienced. Better even than my former personal favorite, the Mercedes-Benz 7-speed. And the upshifts are indeed blindingly, addictingly, head-whackingly fast. But here's the issue. All the time you gain by the Ferrari-fast cog swapage is lost when the transmission refuses to do what you tell it to. Hitting an apex out of gear is always going to be slower than shifting for yourself. Also, most of the time the automatic throttle-blipping on downshifts is very cool and very much appreciated, but there times when it isn't. At all. Let's say you want to go from sixth to second. With a manual, you can take your foot off the accelerator to drop the revs and plant the stick in second. Done. With the IS-F, you yank on the down paddle four times and have to wait as the revs match and then die down low enough to allow the tranny to shift again. Remember, when you are close to redline, instead of downshifting immediately, the computer double beeps at you and waits for the engine to slow down. Do not like.

And finally, why eight speeds? Lexus reps explained that the eight-speed unit is essentially the same shape and size as the family six-speed. However, at 70 mph in eighth gear, the IS-F's engine is spinning below 2,000 rpm. Case in point, on a spirited 400-mile jaunt back to Los Angeles, I managed 22.3 mpg. If you actually owned this car, that's huge. All in all, I saw a 17 mpg average. Driven exactly as hard, the last year's Audi RS4 returned less than 11 mpg.

Audio/Video: *****
We heart Mark Levinson and all his stereos. Especially the kind Lexus shoves into the IS. The only video is the fish-eyed backup camera that flashes on when you slip into reverse. Very handy.

Toys: ***
Does the backup camera count as a toy? One nice feature is the ability to see your overall mpg and your mpg for a particular tank of gas. The navigation system is decent and female passengers all loved the seat heaters. But my favorite piece of kit is rather silly. When you flip the tranny from D to M, a big fat digital "F" logo pops up between the speedo and tach. That's all it does, but I love it. Also — check the sunroof-delete box. Saves you 55 pounds up top.

Trunk: ****
Pretty big, considering. By the way, if the IS-F's trunk in any way factors into your decision-making process when considering this car, don't bother checking your pulse. You're already dead.

Value: ****
The bleeding-heart liberal that refuses to ever cross a picket line in me simply cannot give a $60,000 luxury sport sedan five stars for value. I just can't. However, if Lexus can keep the sticker price around $60,000 that's a hell of a bargain and would undercut all the IS-F's major competition by nearly $10,000. Also, remember the reason the IS-F produces 416 horsepower is because the new BMW M3 makes 414.

Overall: *****
I walked into this thing with low expectations. In my head, the notions of Lexus and high performance couldn't even park next to each other. Color me impressed. A perfect car? No. There's too much sound insulation. While lighter than the Audi RS4, it's still too fat. While some will be happy with the eight-speed slusher, kids like me will always yearn for the stick. The rear wheels should be wider. The seats need three times as much bolstering. And even if they were real, I'd hate the stacked, offset oval pipes.

Despite all that, the upstart IS-F is a bona fide prizefighter in a very competitive weight class. Brutally fast, challenging yet rewarding to fling around a bend and sporting brakes to simply die for a great car make. And for those of you who don't drive bat-guano style 99% of the time, the Dr. Jeckyll/Mr. Hoon split personality of the IS-F might be just what the doctor ordered. Even if the doctor is actually a chiropractor. Hey, we said it rides rough. And we love it rough.

[Part 1, Part 2] [Part 4]

Pull back the engine cover and you're looking at Darth Vader's chest plate, an expansive jumble of wires, black boxes and even more wires. Despite all that, or perhaps because of it, the IS-F gets ultra-low-emissions vehicle (ULEV) status, and won't be slapped with a gas-guzzler penalty. Dig deeper beneath that electrical matrix, and there beats the heart of a brute. It's a 5.0-liter V8 dubbed 2UR-GSE, related to the 4.6-liter 1UR-FSE found in both the GS and the LS. According to company figures, this bored out, free-breathing version of the Lexus family eight-banger puts out 416 gnarly horsepower at 6,600 rpm and cranks out a mighty 371 ft-lb of torque at a fairly lofty 5,200 rpm (though 80% is available at 2,000 rpm).

It's Japanese whiz-bangery to the extreme. Each cylinder gets two fuel injectors, one in the port and one directly in the chamber. The chamber injector is used most of the time, facilitating direct injection, while the low-pressure port injector helps with start-ups in cold weather and to heighten fuel economy under light loads. There's a head scavenge oil pump that ensures lubricant is forced through the engine during hoonatic sideways maneuvers. Likewise, the fuel delivery system uses a similar pump that draws from a sub-tank. There's even a water-cooled oil radiator.

If the IS-F was only a stonkin' engine, we'd have a lot less to talk about. As it is, the car is packed with all sorts of go-faster, hoon-harder kit. Like the eight-speed automatic slushbox that packs a very significant twist. Unlike most other automatics with manual overrides (save dual-clutch setups) there's no stoking the coals and waiting. Activated either by the shift lever or two too-small aluminum paddles, the IS-F's tranny swaps the cogs quickly. Let me restate that. The IS-F's gearbox upshifts in 1/100th of a second. It takes a Ferrari F430 50% longer (150 milliseconds) to accomplish the same task. Yes, this Lexus is capable of upshifting as fast as a 599 GTB. Enjoy banging your passengers' heads on headrests? We've found your sedan. Downshifts are basically as quick, taking 200 milliseconds and are accompanied by an automatic throttle blip to match revs.

Of course, that's in Sport mode. The IS-F actually has three modes. Normal features an especially cruel nanny. Lexus calls this Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM), and it encompasses traction control, stability control, ABS, brake assist, electric brake force distribution, engine torque and the brake-based electronic limited-slip differential that can apply brake and throttle at the same time. In Normal mode, any aggressive movement is interpreted as naughty. As a result the orange idiot light flickers almost constantly. Worse, Normal mode retards the throttle response and overboosts the power steering. Lexus could have just called Normal chill-out mode. Or better yet, Lexus mode.

However, in Sport mode, not only is the throttle response dialed way up and the dual-mode power steering turned down, but if the transmission is left in drive, revs are held right up to redline. Moreover, the VDIM is dialed back to allow for more fun, something engineers call a "higher dynamic threshold," yet enough computer processing takes place to save one's bacon if the IS-F is pushed too far. If you like, you can actually switch everything off leaving only the electronic limited-slip diff and ABS to keep you out of the weeds. But with so much grunt available at all times and a back that's happy to break loose, I found Sport mode the smartest choice.

Brakes are Brembo-supplied and include huge 14.2 inchers up front, 13.6 out back. They're cross-drilled, vented, and even adorned with a Lexus brand. The front calipers contain six pistons of three different sizes. The rears are two-pistoners. The brakes are more than just fade free; they seem to get stronger the harder you stomp them. The suspension is closer to that of stock IS 350 than any other part of the car. Still, the front springs and shocks are 90 percent stiffer while the rear end rates are 50 percent more solid.

Lexus could have used lighter aluminum components and totally reworked the chassis the way BMW's M division does, but they didn't. That said, the IS-F comes in at an acceptable for the class 3,774 lbs. 0-60 takes a factory claimed 4.6 seconds, the quarter mile is over in 13 flat and the top speed is limited to 170 mph. Though, without the governor, the IS-F will do 186 mph. Lexus claims the IS-F was developed on no less than six racetracks, including the Nürburgring, Laguna Seca and Fuji Speedway. Perhaps keeping the suspension relatively stock is how the IS-F will undercut the competition. Lexus wouldn't give us a specific number, but their new wannabe giant-killer will likely zoom out of showrooms for right around $60,000.

Does all this tech, power and purported sportiness come together and form a winning package? We'll see you back here tomorrow.

[Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4]