2016 Lexus GS F performance sedan debuts in Detroit

Hot sedan gets 467-hp naturally aspirated V8

It's official: The 2016 Lexus GS F performance sedan made its debut at the Detroit auto show. The company also took another opportunity to trot out its RC F GT-3 concept after its world debut at the 2014 Geneva motor show.
The GS F takes things a few steps further than the GS350 F Sport, starting with a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8 motor good for 467 hp and 389 lb-ft of torque. The only transmission is an eight-speed automatic equipped with paddle shifters; power is channeled to the rear wheels through Lexus' electronically actuated torque vectoring differential.
The car also recieves a sport-tuned suspension, and its 19-inch rims are shod with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires. Available bright-orange, six-piston brake calipers, startlingly visible on the show car, are tucked behind the wheels.
With a curb weight of 4,034 pounds, it's considerably lighter than more powerful competitors like the BMW M5. Whether that 300-pound weight reduction balances out the naturally aspirated motor's output remains to be seen -- we'll have to wait until we can whip it around a track to know for sure.
Lexus says that its performance-oriented models are key to attracting younger buyers to the brand. F Sport-equipped cars account for roughly one in four cars Lexus sells -- and nearly 50 percent of IS sedans sold -- a figure they claim surprised even them. Even so, the automaker doesn't expect to move many GS F sedans. With projected sales of around 1,600 cars per year, it's going to be a very niche vehicle. Sales begin in the final quarter of 2015.