First spy shots of the wildest Lexus GS ever hit the internet in August. and now Japan’s Best Car magazine has exposed the new GS F sports sedan for all to see.
Seen here in front and rear spy shots, which were used as the basis of Best Car’s rendering also pictured here, this GS F prototype wears an aggressive front bumper/grille with carbon-fibre lower skirts, a prominent bootlid spoiler and lower rear diffuser housing two diagonally stacked exhaust outlets on either side – just like the car we spied in Germany last month.
Also winging up the visual volume over the GS F Sport models in a large front quarter vent behind the front wheels, on which an F logo can clearly be seen behind masking tape.
According to Best Car, the GS F will be powered by a more powerful version of the 339kW 5.0-litre V8 that is expected to power the upcoming RC F coupe, delivering 465hp (347kW).
That’s well up on the 233kW/378Nm 3.5-litre V6 in the existing GS 350, and the GS 450h hybrid’s 252kW V6 petrol-electric drivetrain, which propels the large GS sedan to 100km/h in 5.9 seconds.
However, it’s also well down on the twin-turbo version of the 5.0-litre V8 that powers the Lexus LS limousine-based TS Sports 650 Concept created by Cologne-based Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG) for the Essen motor show last December.
Offering no less than 478kW/710Nm, TMG’s biturbo V8 accelerates the bigger and heavier (2070kg) LS/TS to 100km/h in a claimed 4.2 seconds and a 320km/h top speed.
If Best Cars is right, the first V8 version of Lexus’ latest GS large sedan will be less of a rival for the BMW M5, Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG and Audi RS 6 – all of which offer more than 400kW and 0-100km/h acceleration in less than 4.5 seconds – and more of a competitor to the sub-$180,000 BMW 550i and Audi S6.
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