The late, great Mark Donohue is credited with saying, "It will never have enough power until I can spin the wheels at the end of the straightaway in high gear." This response, to the Porsche engineers of the Can-Am-dominating 917-30, was tongue-in-cheek (the car's turbocharged flat-12 may have produced as much as 1400 bhp, depending on boldness with the boost control), but it's a sentiment that echoes through the engineering halls of Audi, BMW, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz when it comes to their production cars. "If 350 bhp is good, wouldn't it stand to reason that 450 bhp is better?" That's a foregone conclusion with us at R&T.
So here we have an incredible crop of normally aspirated aluminum-block 4-cam V-8 engines, ranging in displacement from 4.0 to 6.2 liters, with an average specific output of 90.2 bhp/liter and a redline average exceeding 7600 rpm! With a world-conquering power-to-weight ratio being more easily achieved by reducing the "weight" part, these manufacturers elected to cram these V-8s into some of the smaller 4-door bodyshells in their lineups. So with the shoehorn that is modern computer-aided design, these optimized air pumps were finessed into the engine bays of the Audi RS 4, BMW M3 Sedan, Lexus IS F and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG -- some fitting more easily than others.
To borrow a tire company's tagline, power is nothing without control, so all contestants here have firm suspensions, tightly valved shocks, sticky-compound performance tires (with section widths as high as 265 mm) and braking systems with pizza-sized rotors and as many as eight pistons per caliper. And each sedan serves up varying degrees of visual intimidation to complement the superior roadholding and acceleration.
In addition to our normal performance tests, we spent two and a half days driving up the California coast to Morro Bay via Highways 33, 166 and 101, then across sinuous Highway 58, an asphalt-lined bobsled run that tightly zigzags through hills and then cuts across desolate oil fields and valleys, terminating in Buttonwillow ("Heart of Cotton Country," says the sign). After multiple runs that, er, got the tires up to operating temp, a number of car swaps and extended note scribbling, we turned in our ratings sheets and tallied the results.
2008 Lexus IS F || Free Price Quote
Points: 367.9
Nobody likes to finish off the podium, but it's not as bad as it might seem for the first Lexus to wear the stylized "F" -- and the first Lexus capable of decidedly "non-Lexus" performance in the vein of the BMW M3. Its explosive 0-60 and quarter-mile times of 4.2 and 12.6 seconds put it second in the test, just a tick slower than the Mercedes. A slalom weave of 70.9 mph also puts it in second, behind the BMW. Pass the 3600-rpm transition point ... and be deep into the throttle ... the 416-bhp 5.0-liter V-8's dual-geometry intake manifold transforms the induction note from a Lexus purr to an angry race-car rasp whose low-frequency vibrations would rattle the interior trim of a lesser car.
And its 8-speed paddle-shift transmission? Said Andrew Bornhop: "It makes us all feel like excellent drivers ... and I love how you can get wheelspin in 2nd gear while accelerating hard -- not many automatics allow that!" For a torque-converter automatic, the system is simply the best of the breed in shift quickness and aggressive self-blipping of the downshifts. Bravo!
Other great attributes are the best seats of the lot, agreeably bolstered and covered in a perforated ivory/black leather combination. The wheel is a thickly padded 3-spoker, with bumps and depressions in all the right places on the rim. The main instruments have needles that glow in signature blue lighting, easy to read at a quick glance.
So no flies in the ointment yet. Until you look at the IS F among the others. Said Dennis Simanaitis: "To me, the Lexus' oddly pugnacious snout detracts from its otherwise stylish lines." The tarted-up oval finishers for the exhaust do the car no aesthetic favors, and the side treatment makes the Lexus appear a little bottom-heavy. "It's as if the bodywork additions were made of wax," I wrote in my notes, "and then left under a heat lamp." Bornhop added, "It looks a bit reptilian."
Inside, the ergonomics and general layout are appealing, but the IS F deserves a much higher-quality dash pad; its contours are doughy, its surface texture indifferent and a gap was starting to appear between it and the top of the center-stack plastic. On the plus side, the trim on the center console and door panels is a home run ... it has the look of woven carbon-fiber cloth, only done with bright strands of aluminum.
In the bendy stuff, the Lexus can hold its own, despite having the narrowest front tires, 225/40ZR-19s. Second-heaviest in the test (a curb weight of 3825 lb.), it felt bulkier than the others, no doubt partly due to its high, wide hood as seen from the driver's seat. We found the yaw control's Sport setting to be a little limiting in our harder-than-average driving, but it can be shut off. Ride quality took a points hit in our ratings, the primary motions judged to be the jiggliest of the lot. "Still," offered Mike Monticello, "it is a confidence-inspiring machine that can be truly flogged over back roads. I was surprised at the lack of compliance from the rear suspension, though, over large harsh bumps."
If it sounds like we're splitting hairs here, it's because we are; just look at the tightly spaced points totals. The IS F just happened to be the least brilliant of this exceptional foursome.
