Through Ian's Lens: 2008 Lexus IS-F

The Lexus IS-F is the first car off the assembly line to wear the new performance-signifying F Series badge from Lexus. The smooth lines of the current IS model are amplified by a ferocious front end that takes more than a couple of cues from the kind Germans over at BMW. For the IS-F, the hood creases are raised and the lines are made more prominent, while the grille and wheels get a considerable upgrade in materials and design. Other differences include a lower front spoiler, wider wheel wells that hide functional air outlets, a subdued rear spoiler and some nifty stacked quad-exhaust pipes. All in all, the machine looks fierce, and it sounds even fiercer. For those of you looking to find an expensively fast “sleeper,” the IS-F comes complete with a smattering of subtle “F” badges that cover the car without drawing an ounce of attention. Let me know what you think in the comments section. A full set of photos is below.

Comments

[Cheryl]

Absolutely Beautiful!!

[John]

I wouldn't even consider this over an M3 or C63 AMG. The only thing it has over the Germans is reliability...other than that, nada.

[Spanky]

"some nifty stacked quad-exhaust pipes."
2 of which are actually functional.

[DL]

the "F" looks like it belongs on some washing machine ...

how about 2 gatling-gun type clusters of exhaust tips, if half of the IS-F's tips are already cosmetic? just go all the way!

[Hector]

nice. This confirms what I saw recently running around in the south loop.

[PLT]

Interesting grille - Looks like the heating element on my toaster. I guess if you are going to blow $60k on an IS you should at least be able to fix a snack.

[ilija]

This car looks so much like regular IS 350. I saw one the other day and had troubles making sure it is IS-F not regular 350. And on the top of everything it is very heavy. I do like Japanese cars but would never go for this over M3/C63AMG/RS4. It seems that this time Toyota did not execute well. I would like to see how sales sfigure compare after one year among the above mentioned cars. I might be proven wrong.

[MiguelP]

Ian's photography skills and choice of shooting locations in Chicago are absolutely top notch.

The IS-F- not so much...

[doug]

I choose the IS-f over the M3 and the C63, I even had a M3 on order.
The German paint sucks, orange peel. I love the Lexus it also sounds better.