I drive a 2008 IS350. Very nice car, plenty of go and handles pretty well, although I can confirm the IS F is a very different BEAST. I'm not a member of C/Lexus although know a few of them. I just have a few connections within Lexus USA. Also, from what I know the IS F is outselling the M3 sedan and C63 by approx 50% and 70% respectively. I think it has definitely surprised a few people in BMW and MB!!
Well it definately created a storm when we first heard about it." What, an 8 speed box with an 8" "and in a sim shell to the IS250". I tell you what, performance wise, I'd be full of it if I said that I wasn't impressed with the claimed power. Especially thinking that its in a relatively light weight base.
Just price wise in Australia, its hard to get that excited when you think what else you can get in that price range!! Again, the price is only speculation @ the moment, we will have to wait and see. How much are they going for in the States?
The MSRP is ~US$57k... and approx US$60k with Navi / Levinson. But then the IS250 manual is ~$30k ... vs ~$50 in Oz.
A couple of very cool facts ... upshifts in ~0.1 secs (ferrari fast), engine blip on downshift, can chirp tyres from 1st to 2nd, and 2nd to 3rd, engine is relatively quiet till 3600rpm, then roars like a true V8 as 2nd stage intake comes into play. Gears 7 and 8 are really only for fuel economy.
I am 36.