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2020 Lexus GS F Review & Video | Looking past the numbers

You don't hear much about the 2020 Lexus GS F. It's been out for a while now, the model having debuted for 2016 and the base GS sedan stretching all the way back to 2012. That's an awful lot of time for the automotive world to whiz by, especially in the upper echelon of performance sedans. Packing 467 horsepower is suddenly weak sauce when rivals have crested the 600-hp plateau. The fact that Lexus still hasn't convinced the automotive enthusiast community at large that it actually makes compelling performance machines certainly doesn't help.  To be perfectly honest, I have avoided testing the GS F for several years now. "Who's going to buy that?" I've pondered, considering all of the above plus its $85,000 price tag. Nevertheless, I've got more time on my hands these days to test more cars and a Lexus Flare Yellow paint job is impossible to ignore, so hey, why not? Well, after a week, I didn't want to turn over the keys. When faced with first-world automotive journalist problem of picking between the the Flare Yellow GS F and the BMW M340i also parked out front, I quickly chose the Lexus. And if I had $85,000 to spend on a high-powered luxury sedan, I honestly think I'd happily choose it over the Germans that outdo it on paper. Many of you will think that stupid and will point to the numbers at hand. The GS F's 5.0-liter V8 sends 467 hp and 389 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels only, and is capable of a 0-60 run of 4.5 seconds. A BMW M5 has 600 hp and hits 60 in 3.2 seconds; the lesser M550i has 523 hp and a 3.6-second time. That M340i xDrive also in my driveway? It hits 60 in 4.1. Over at Mercedes-AMG, the E 63 has 603 hp and a 3.3-second time. Only the lesser E 53 is comparable to the Lexus with 429 hp and a 4.4-second 0-60 time. Its torque is also comparable, unlike the rest of those Germanic monsters that utterly roast the Lexus. However, all of that extra output and all of those quicker times are also indicative of the very reason the GS F remains so desirable. It doesn't have a turbocharger, ensuring unencumbered response, a zesty 7,800-rpm redline and marvelous noises that don't require the sound enhancement feature Lexus throws in anyway (and that I turned off). It also doesn't require all-wheel drive to quell elephantine gobs of tire-shredding turbocharged torque, thereby letting the front wheels simply handle the steering. The rears, meanwhile, can smoke away and swing loose should you disable the appropriate settings to do so.

2022 Lexus LS pricing up by a little and a lot

In October of last year, Lexus announced its 2022 LS lineup with a sprinkling of finespun tweaks. There were retuned spring and damper rates for a more comfortable ride, larger anti-roll bars, an "enhanced" adjustable-ride-height function to improve passenger ingress and egress, reshaped piston tops for quieter engine operation and updated transmission calibration for more motoring in the meat of the power band. Plus, Lexus Safety System+ 2.5 came standard on every model in the range, a traditional Japanese foil treatment called Haku was available for the Luxury and Executive Packages, and the swish, 23-speaker Mark Levinson audio could be be optioned on the entry-level LS for the first time. At the time, prices weren't changed from 2021. Now they have. The entry-level LS 500 starts at $77,175 after the $1,075 destination charge, a $100 bump. The LS 500 F Sport also climbs just $100, to $80,775. Sending power to the front axle on either trim requires another $3,250. The LS 500h AWD hybrid now starts at $113,075, which reflects two price increases. Lexus removed the rear-wheel drive LS 500h from the lineup, so getting into the electrified LS stratum costs $21,500 more than it did for the 2021 model year. But Lexus also added more standard equipment to the AWD hybrid and boosted the price of the 2022 LS 500h AWD by $18,025 compared to the 2021 LS 500h AWD. The flagship sedan now gets Lexus Teammate Level 2 autonomy capability with Advanced Drive and Advanced Park standard. Advanced Drive invests the executive transport with the power to execute maneuvers like acceleration and braking to follow other vehicles, change lanes, pass slower vehicles and get through certain intersections. Advanced Park does just that. The Luxury Package is also standard, its features costing at least $17,000 to add on the entry-level LS.  The non-hybrid LS will offer a nine-strong exterior color palette, some of them a $500 or $595 upcharge: Atomic Silver, Caviar, Eminent White Pearl, Iridium, Manganese Luster, Matador Red Mica, Nightfall Mica, Obsidian and Ultra White. Ultra White isn't available on the LS hybrid. The 2022 LS is expected to reach dealers in late spring.   Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lexus LC Convertible might be revealed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Lexus reportedly has plans to reveal a Lexus LC Convertible at this year's Goodwood Festival of Speed. The news comes from a Roadshow report, citing multiple, anonymous Lexus sources. One is right to be skeptical, but an LC Convertible seems likely after seeing the concept revealed at the Detroit Auto Show at the beginning of the year. We liked what we saw back in January, and the "concept" looked nearly production ready. Lexus hinted a production version may be on the way, and it looks like we might see the delivery of that car in early July. The Goodwood Festival of Speed runs July 4-7. That concept car was missing a roof, but we imagine Lexus will be fitting a space-saving soft top for the production car. Space is limited in the LC500's small trunk, and a bulky hard top would just about kill it entirely. However, the gorgeous lines of the LC500 will most likely suffer from such a top — it's pretty much impossible to replicate the coupe's sweet lines and styling with a fabric top. The idea of an LC Convertible is sound, though. It makes sense for Lexus to take advantage of the beautiful and exotic design of the LC500 for more models, especially as BMW dives head first into this arena with multiple flavors of the 8 Series. As convertibles typically are, we'll expect this one to be more expensive and slower than the coupe. The LC500 starts at $93,325, including the $1,025 destination charge. Lexus says acceleration to 60 mph with the 5.0-liter V8 takes 4.4 seconds. We wouldn't be surprised to see a price tag arching over $100,000, and a couple tenths knocked off that 0-60 mph time with an inevitably heavier car. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is as good a place as any to reveal something like an LC Convertible. We'll be on the grounds in England when the time comes, so check back to see if Lexus decides to pull the covers off in a few weeks.