Without wishing to begin the story on a bum note, you can't help but think naturally aspirated V8 saloons aren't long for this world. They're hardly models of efficiency after all. So Lexus deserves credit for bucking the turbo trend and dropping the RC F's 5.0-litre V8 into
the GS saloon
And the execution? Well it doesn't look half bad from the first tech spec and photos. Incredibly this (quite striking) barge is lighter than the
RC F
by 10kg at 1,830kg. Admittedly that's from the 'preliminary US market data' but it bodes well. For reference an
M5
Audi RS7
But they will have a power and torque advantage. The GS F will strut into a 500hp+ club sporting 'just' the 473hp and 389lb ft. These are very slightly different to the officially stated numbers for the RC (478hp and 391lb ft) so we expect that to be a slight discrepancy and the actual figures to be identical. Can a redline on the exciting side of 7,000rpm make up for a significant torque deficit? The eight-speed auto will also feature in the GS F.
So when's RHD coming Lexus?
Furthermore, the GS will use the RC's torque vectoring with standard, slalom and track modes. Expect too a wealth of upgrades to the suspension and brakes, all to be detailed at Detroit next week.
Is it too early to speculate on price? Probably. Lexus wasn't shy about pricing the RC F directly against the M3/M4 but it was entering that battle with more power. With the GS F down slightly on its rivals a price slightly undercutting them would seem appropriate. A standard Jaguar XFR is £65,440 and the Audi S6, closest on output with 450hp, is £56,000. Whatever the outcome on price, it's another fast Lexus to excite the enthusiast and surely that must be good news.
