Lexus is trying to steer away from its established image of just making comfortable, reliable luxury cars, and inject a bit of zest into the brand, because sporty sells nowadays.
Just take one good look at the revised LS, especially in F-Sport trim – it is considerably more aggressive than anything they’ve previously done, especially on a big heavy barge like their flagship. This is also evident in the new GS and IS, which again, with the mean F-Sport bits specified, look more aggressive.
The shift in mentality can be traced back to the LF-A supercar, as well as the IS-F, which turned out to actually be a very competent M3 rival, especially after its final facelift. Lexus first set out to copy Mercedes-Benz, but now it seems they are trying to inject a bit of BMW-ness into their brand. They have their own performance sub-brand, in oder to adhere to the German luxury norm.
Now, they have announced that this year they will be taking part at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. They will be showing off the new IS 300h, in F-Sport trim obviously, and those who attend will also get a chance to drive the brand’s new 3-Series rival. However, it will not be the very first Lexus to complete the hillclimb route, as the Gazoo Racing Nurburgring 24 Hours LFA was also present at the event, back in 2011.
By Andrei Nedelea
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