2009 Lexus IS-F for SEMA

It hasn’t taken long for tuners to start wrenching on the Lexus IS-F, and this modified version will appear at the 2008 Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) show.

Texas-based tuner Artisan Performance bolted two turbochargers to the IS-F’s 5.0-liter V-8 and added stronger JE pistons and Crower connecting rods, along with a new radiator, remapped computer, and performance exhaust. Artisan expects to see more than 600 wheel horsepower from the blown IS-F—up from a factory-rated 416 horses at the crank.

A subtle body kit exaggerates the IS-F’s styling cues, while Sunset Orange paint will fit in perfectly with other brightly-hued offerings at SEMA. Artisan equipped the car with 20-inch iForged wheels and Toyo T1R tires, and the headlights, grille, and badges are blacked out.

Lexus hired Pennsylvania automotive design and PR firm Fox Marketing to design the car, who in turn hired Artisan to assist in making it a reality. The idea is to attract a “savvy, European type buyer” to the IS-F—what, is the BMW M3 proving a more formidable opponent than Toyota’s luxury brand imagined? Being that the M3 emerged victorious over the IS F in a comparison test, it would appear so. 600 horses, we think, could go a long way in bridging the gap, though. Bring it on.

© Source: caranddriver
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2009 Lexus IS-F - SEMA Preview

The 2009 Lexus IS-F is slated to get some serious attention at SEMA, and Fox Marketing and Artisan are out to prove that show and go aren't mutually exclusive.

The plan is to create an IS-F that has the power to match its presence, and to that end, Artisan developed a twin-turbo setup that huffs compressed oxygen into a 5.0-liter V8 equipped with JE pistons and Crower rods. With a Mishimoto radiator, an Artisan exhaust, a healthy amount of boost and a thorough tune, Artisan is estimating over 600 hp at the rear wheels.

Aesthetically, the team sought to compliment the stock IS-F's styling, so they've fitted a bespoke body kit consisting of custom front and rear bumpers, and a set of side-skirts that cleanly integrate into the blistered rear fenders. iForged rollers fill the wheel wells, sized 20x9.5-inches in front and 20x11.5-inches in the rear, and wrapped in Toyo T1R tires (255/35R20 front and 305/30R20 rear). The Glasurit Sunset Orange hue is courtesy of BASF, and according to Brian Fox, they'll be blacking out the headlamps, grille and emblems to tie everything together.

Artisan plans to have its IS-F exhaust on sale next month, and when we check out the Lexus booth this November, we'll be able to see Fox/Artisan's efforts in person, along with a handful of other tuned and tweaked IS-Fs.

© Source: autoblog
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Brand New Lexus IS-F Starts Smoking on Dyno (Rolling Road)

This IS-F was on the dyno being tested for horsepower, when on the third round (that I saw) the clutch went out (or something mechanical went wrong). The passenger of the car ran out and checked the back, as smoke poured out. It was hard to see exactly what happened, but you can hear the clutch (if it was one) going out at the end. Great car, it was unbelievably loud down there.



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2008 Lexus IS F Review

The letter F is an auspicious one in Lexus lore. Back in the mid-'80s, when the Lexus brand was still in the planning stages, Toyota insiders referred to the prospective luxury division as "Circle F." And the car that put Lexus on the map, the LS 400, was known internally as Flagship One, or F1. For 2008, the letter F is back: The company has decided to crash the über-sport sedan party with the 2008 Lexus IS-F, a hard-edged performance car based on the IS-series sedan and aimed squarely at perennial magazine-cover fodder like the Audi RS4, BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG.

The IS-F marks the official launch of Lexus' F line, and it's akin to the aforementioned competitors' in-house performance divisions. As such, Lexus has gone to great lengths to differentiate the IS-F from its more sedate IS-series brethren. Take the IS-F's exclusive power plant, for example, which begins life as the gas-swilling half of the LS 600h L's hybrid engine and then gets a thorough makeover from Toyota's longtime performance partner, Yamaha. The end result is a 5.0-liter V8 that churns out 416 horsepower and 371 pound-feet of torque, compared with 306 and 277, respectively, from the IS 350's already potent 3.5-liter V6. Likewise, the IS-F eschews the IS 350's six-speed automatic transmission for a heavily modified version of the LS 460's eight-speed unit that boasts Ferrari-quick upshifts and automatic throttle blips on downshifts. The singularity and complexity of this powertrain serve notice to the old guard that this Lexus means business. Like its F1-cum-LS 400 forebear, the 2008 Lexus IS-F is designed to go toe to toe with the best.

Outside the engine room, however, the IS-F has a few kinks to work out. For one thing, while its extensively revised suspension is dynamite on the track, the IS-F falls well short of the ride-handling balance for which certain rivals are justly famous. For another, its exterior styling cues range from the controversial (e.g., the reshaped hood and snout required to accommodate the 5.0-liter mill) to the downright tacky (e.g., the quad-stacked tailpipes that aren't actually connected to the exhaust system). Its German competition, on the other hand -- as well as the upcoming Cadillac CTS-V -- feature relatively compliant rides and subtle aesthetics.

There's no doubt that the IS-F is a serious driver's car, but we can't help but wonder whether its hardcore personality is a little over the top for this segment, notwithstanding its commendably hushed interior and rather incongruous lack of a manual transmission option. Enthusiasts with 60 large to plunk down on a sport sedan may find the IS-F a smidge too fast and furious for their tastes.

Nonetheless, the 2008 Lexus IS-F is a thrilling car on its own merits, and its uncompromising nature indicates that Lexus is willing to do what it takes to ensure that its sporting F models will be competitive with class leaders. The company has already hit two home runs with the letter F, and while it hasn't quite knocked the IS-F out of the park, it's still a promising first step toward challenging the established heavyweights for the factory performance crown.

© Source: edmunds
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2008 Lexus IS-F Preview

Performance sells, especially in the compact sports-luxury class. And for that class, factory tuner cars provide a showcase for the manufacturer's most serious commitment to performance. If the formula is simple - let the in-house hot-rodders loose on what is already a first-rate sports automobile - the implementation is not, and it has a positive effect on the rest of that automaker's cars, especially the all-important compact sports-luxury sedans, coupes, and convertibles.

For a start, the engine was developed in partnership with Yamaha. Nothing new there, as Toyota/Yamaha partnerships go back to the Toyota 2000GT of the late 1960s. The Yamaha engineers involved were last associated with the company's most recent Formula One engine effort, so they were well-versed in high-performance engine design and development. The block is die cast aluminum, with a forged steel crankshaft featuring mirror-polished journals for minimum friction. Connecting rods and pistons are designed and built for strength and durability in high-rpm operation.

The Yamaha-designed cylinder heads have a lightweight four valve per cylinder valvetrain with titanium intake valves, a dual-intake induction system that opens a secondary intake above 3600 rpm for more power, the SFI D-4 direct and port fuel injection system (similar to that used in other IS models) that allows a high 11.8:1 compression ratio for increased power and efficiency, and a new twist on the VVT-i variable cam phasing system. VVT-iE still uses conventional hydraulic control to "degree" exhaust camshafts - rotate the shaft relative to its static position to advance or retard valve timing and change valve overlap. Because this uses engine oil, which needs to be warmed to operating temperature and viscosity for the system to work, it doesn't operate when the engine is cold. To get by this problem, the intake camshafts are degreed by computer-controlled electric motors. The result is improved running from cold, increased power - and increased fuel efficiency and decreased emissions. Unlike some competitors, the IS-F will not come with a "gas guzzler" surcharge. Maximum power, all 416 horses worth, is developed at 6600 rpm, with maximum torque 371 lb-ft at 5200. Redline is 6800. And EPA mileage is 16 city, 23 highway.

If the engine is interesting, the transmission is even more so. Manual shifting is a necessity in a high-performance automobile, and high-tech high-performance these days means an automated manual gearbox, with lightning-fast up- and down-shifts controlled, along with the clutch, by electronic and hydraulic wizardry. Such gearboxes are found in all major road-racing series, and in many of the IS-F's competitors. They are not torque-converter automatics with manual shifting. Audi's twin-clutch DSG is the benchmark. Lexus challenges it with an eight-speed gearbox with a twist - it's both a torque-converter automatic in automatic mode, and fully manual in manual mode in gears two through eight. First uses the torque converter to deal with the stresses of starting, but it's locked up otherwise in manual, to provide a direct connection between the engine and transmission. Upshifts can take as little as one tenth of a second, with downshifts taking two-tenths. Engine and transmission revs are automatically matched during downshifting.

© Source: theautochannel
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Lexus IS-F Racing Concept

Tucked away at the Tokyo tuner show, details on this track version of Lexus's M3 rival remain sketchy. All we know is that it looks truly mean.

The massive front aero kit and rear spoiler hint that the racing IS-F could compete in Germany's DTM series. But the word on the show floor is that the car is nothing more than the pet project of IS-F chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi. As pet projects go, it's a good 'un.

In unrelated related news, we also hear that an IS-F will compete in this year's Super GT championship in Japan. That's the same series the awesome GT-R racer we saw earlier this month will enter, although the IS-F will compete in the GT300 class, not the Nissan's GT500 division.

Best of all, the IS-F GT300 is likely to be mid-engined, a revelation that Super GT officials have described as 'crazy' and we describe as a thoroughly good idea.

© Source: topgear
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Full Test: 2008 Lexus IS-F

Rather than shoehorning a 5.0-liter V8 into the nose of an IS 350 and simply calling it the IS 500, Lexus has instead cooked up a far more dedicated sport sedan with its new 2008 Lexus IS-F.According to Lexus, the "F" in Lexus IS-F is derived from Toyota's initial "Circle-F" designation of 20 years ago for what would become the Lexus brand itself. Circle-F later morphed into Flagship One or F1, which in turn became the internal code for the first Lexus car, the LS 400.

F Is for Fury
Regardless of what it means to the luxury carmaker (and how it appears to the serious sport-sedan buyer), the 2008 Lexus IS-F is a serious piece of highly engineered hardware indeed. At its heart, the 5.0-liter V8 (2UR-GSE) comes from a stroked version of the 4.6-liter engine (1UR-FSE) found in the luxo-cruising Lexus LS 460. Now that Yamaha (a frequent collaborator with Toyota for engine projects) has had its way with it, an essentially all-new engine pumps out an impressive 416 horsepower at 6,600 rpm with 371 pound-feet of torque available at 5,200 rpm.

Exclusive to this Lexus V8 are trick cylinder heads with solid lifters and titanium intake valves, plus a water-cooled oil radiator. There's also an oil-scavenge pumping system that keeps the engine supplied with life-sustaining lubricant even in high-G cornering, and even the fuel tank uses an offset pump in a sub-tank for the same reasons.

The engine's lightweight reciprocating mass (said to be half that of other UR engines) combines with variable valve timing to produce a lofty redline of 6,800 rpm.

There's an instantly recognizable pubescent change in the IS-F's voice at 3,600 rpm when the dual-path intake system opens the secondary plumbing (located in the right wheelwell), immersing the passengers in a furious symphony of eight-cylinder baritone.

When you pour the 5.0-liter V8's power through the highly modified eight-speed automatic transmission (from the LS 460), the 3,780-pound IS-F is good for a 4.8-second time to 60 mph on the way to a quarter-mile in 13.2 seconds at 109 mph, and it's still accelerating hard — very hard.

The price of the 2008 Lexus IS-F might make it persuasive. Though the official numbers won't be announced for a bit, Lexus says our estimate of $59,900 isn't "embarrassingly inaccurate," so we used the current IS 350's optional $2,550 navigation system price to calculate this IS-F's $62,540 as-tested price.

© Source: edmunds
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