Lexus Chief Engineer Talks GS F Performance and Goals
What makes an F? Is it something that can only be limited to hyper-performance cars like the LFA, or sport coupes like the RC F? Soon, Lexus will be bringing out a hopped-up, F version of the GS. While on paper it doesn’t seem to be different from the RC F in terms of performance, the GS F chief engineer believes it’ll be an honest-to-goodness performance machine.
For any F to succeed, it must achieve three different metrics. As chief engineer Yukihiko Yaguchi tells us in the video below, it must meet sound, response, and power qualifications. If you’ve ever driven the RC F, you know they’ve got the sound part taken care of. And that same 5.0L V8 makes its way into the GS F.
As for response and power, Lexus believes that the GS F doesn’t need more power than the smaller RC F, and I tend to agree with them. Sure, Dodge makes a sedan with 707-horsepower, but the average person doesn’t really know exactly how much 500-horsepower really is, especially to live with day-to-day.
Responsiveness will be the ultimate key. The GS F will surely be a heavy car, just like the RC F is a bit of a porker over the BMW M4. But if it doesn’t feel heavy on the street or on the track, the overall weight won’t matter to many people.
What do you think? Does the GS have the qualifications to be given the F badge? Let us know!