What does the “F” in the name of this new four-door, 416-horse velocityraptor from Lexus stand for? Company boss Jim Farley doesn’t much care. “Maybe ‘Fuji,’ our racetrack,” he says (the F logo is shaped like Turn One). “Or ‘Circle-F’ [the original code name for Lexus Division]. Or ‘Flagship.’”
Allow us to offer a suggestion, Jim: “Fenomenal.”
Based on the platform that underpins the IS 250 and IS 350 sport sedans, the IS F is a carbon-spewing, tire-vaporizing mutant, the gentrified Lexus family’s black sheep (and you know how much fun black sheep can be). Given Lexus’s carefully cultivated reputation for civility, the rip-snorting IS F shouldn’t even be here. And yet, by sheer force of will (see sidebar), it is. Lucky us.