LEXUS IS-F - Mellow bellow

The formula is fairly simple: shove the LS600 Lexus model's 5-litre quad cam V8 under the bonnet of the much smaller IS model, keep the LS's eight-speed transmission, too, for good measure, and get Yamaha to make the whole plot a little quicker revving and responsive by using a new valve train, free-flow intake ports, a new oil cooler, and an extra "scavenger" pump to help cope with cornering side-forces.

Easy really, but as well as giving the car 311kW and 505Nm, Lexus' engineers also made sure the chassis would cope with the inevitable stresses, while much larger brakes and more capable chassis electronics are also included, so it handles and stops as well as it goes.

In order to keep the IS-F solidly on the ground at high speed, and to guide cool air into the engine bay and allow warm air out of it, there are body appendages, splitters, scoops and vents around the front and side of the car, and a vestigial spoiler on the boot lid.

The little spoiler needs help from two pairs of oval pipes to visually impart the car's potential from the rear, and pretty though the IS 250 donor may be, the high performance IS-F is merely handsome, in the same brutal way that a Cobra or TVR is. If the IS-F chewed gum and kept its cigarettes folded up inside a T-shirt sleeve, I wouldn't be at all surprised.

It would all be a little sad if the IS- F didn't perform. But no need for long faces, this car is blisteringly quick, and makes a very un-Lexus like noise when its driver prods the engine beyond 3600rpm, with a hard, Nascar-like throat clearance that you almost feel like apologising for.

Its high-revolution bellow is all the more surprising when you know that for most of the time the engine is as mellow as they come, conducting general every-day motoring tasks without turning a head, just like any other Lexus.

Debbie Patullo, manager of Lexus New Zealand, makes the point that the IS-F would possibly not appeal to a traditional GS owner.

I beg to differ. While the GS is probably the most quiet and refined car in its class, the transition to the ostensibly raw and ready IS-F is not that great.

Up to the speed limit and on our coarse-chip surfaces, the IS-F acquits itself remarkably well, despite its solid body control, 19-inch rims and relatively firm ride.

It dispatches bumps and surface breaks much more convincingly than the M3 and C63, traversing bumpy, wickedly off- camber bends on my Manawatu drive route without a twitch, and remaining resolutely on line where the Germans may well have skipped a few centimetres.

That's not to say that the IS-F doesn't suit track work, because it does. It's just that the Benz and BMW are suited to smoother road surfaces because of their more overtly track- oriented personalities.

It's quite possible to drive briskly on the open road without experiencing the IS-F's remarkable and goose-bump inducing sound signature. Lexus has worked with the V8-engine's induction system so that the air box changes its voice when you excite the power unit beyond a road- speed slumber. When you do, the hard, metallic explosion from mellow to bellow, and the lunging thrust back into the wraparound driver's seat is not very Lexus at all.

It's hard not to admire what Lexus has done with its first foray into Jekyll and Hyde motoring, for though the IS-F is a purring pussycat in normal use, when it's flung around Manfield, which is what I did with the car last week, the car is a revelation.

On the track, the car's vocal accompaniment emits a lilting descant on the downshift as you paddle your way through the eight- speed gearbox. This makes you sound like the expert driver of a manual car as it "blips" the throttle.

I was not convinced that a chassis as comfortable as the IS-F's on the road would manage very well on the track without pumping a little more air into its tyres and perhaps replacing roll bars with stiffer items. But no, it was straight onto the track and away, and though the car understeers a tad more than the BMW M3, it felt just as controlled and communicative.

With what Lexus calls its Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) and stability and traction control systems in place, I was expecting some unwanted braking and throttle mitigation to cut through and rather ruin the experience.

However, Lexus' Bruce Buckland says that the development engineers at the Mount Fuji race circuit (which is where the F in IS-F comes from) found the car was quicker with all systems in place than with them switched out of the equation.

I can vouch for that, for what was a serenely well-controlled turn-in, balance and drift from straight to straight with all the systems switched on, became a rather tangential experience without.

It was just as much fun of course, but tended to add valuable seconds to the process.

Needless to say, the IS-F's eight- speed transmission was set in "manual" for Manfield, although for most intents and purposes on the road it can be left to its own devices.

In "sport" or "manual" mode, the IS-F also resets its power steering, reducing the amount of wheel-movement required for cornering and reducing the actual assistance. It remains a little distant in terms of feel, but you do appreciate the more immediate responses on the track. With brakes from Brembo you'd expect the IS-F to stop well, but it really is like hitting the wall, even from 200kmh. Once you get used to the pedal feel, it's easy to adjust your pedal pressure accordingly and drive deep into the apex of a driving line without drama.

Lexus will be offering IS-F buyers track days so they can learn to exploit and appreciate the model's talents and ability in controlled conditions.

Equipment and home comfort- wise, the $137,000 IS-F's only compromise is turning the rear bench into a two-seater.

Otherwise it's typical Lexus fare, with standard sat-nav, parking sensors, a Mark Levinson 6-disc, MP3 and WMA compatible 14-speaker sound system, power front seats which grip you like a bear-hug and come upholstered like the rest of the cabin in black with terra cotta or awful white perforated-leather inserts.

The IS-F has Xenon gas-discharge adaptive headlamps, Bluetooth, dual- zone climate control and keyless entry. The only extra-cost option is a $3000 tilt/slide glass/shade sunroof.

The IS-F may not be as hard-wired a track car as the M3, but many would prefer it on the road, with its surprisingly pliant ride – for the type – and easy-going nature at "normal" speeds.

On the circuit, it's surprisingly talented, with a sound signature likely to drown-out its track-mates as it makes a good fist of keeping-up and even passing the usual German suspects.

LEXUS IS-F

• Drivetrain: front-mounted rear wheel drive fuel injected 4969cc Quad Cam 32-valve V8 producing 311kW at 6600rpm, and 505Nm at 5200rpm. Eight- speed automatic transmission with paddle shift override. Max 270kmh (governed), 0-100kmh 4.8secs, 11.4L/100km, 270g/km CO2.
• Chassis: Independent double wishbones at front, independent multi-links at rear, stabiliser bars front and rear. Electronic power-assisted rack and pinion steering. Vented disc brakes front and rear. Vehicle dynamics integrated management VDIM, ABS, EBD, brake assist, Vehicle Stability Control and Traction Control. 19 x 8J alloy wheels at front, 19 x 9J at rear, with 225/40 R19 and 255/35 R19 steel-belted radial-ply tyres.
• Dimensions: L 4600mm, H 1415mm, W 1815mm, W/base 2730mm, F/track 1560mm, R/track 1515mm, Weight 1700kg, Fuel 64L.
• Price: $137,000.
• HOT: Performance; sound signature; handling balance and control; on-road refinement and ride; price; ownership package; build quality.
• NOT: Lacks beauty of standard IS model; no manual transmission; some garish interior choices; F-badge a bit naff.
• VERDICT: Before fans of German competitors sneer at this car they should drive it.

- © Fairfax NZ News