EVO has a 2008 Lexus IS-F as one of their long-term vehicles, and recently took the sedan on a trip to Germany to test out its upper limits:
Our chosen section is bone dry, bright and mercifully light on traffic. Time to let the 5-litre V8 strut its stuff.
What follows is the longest sustained exposure I’ve had to that fantastic bellowing induction note as the IS-F hungrily chomps its way through gears three, four, five and, from 140mph, six. This all happens rather rapidly, the acceleration meaningful, the speedo sweeping inexorably upwards.
Writer Ollie Valentine ends up passing the IS-F’s claimed maximum speed of 168mph, hitting 173.2mph during one of three runs down the German highway. Absolutely fantastic.
[Source: EVO]