VIDEO: Lexus IS-F Press Day at Fuji Speedway

I think 7 & 8 are overdrive gears used for fuel economy purposes. Therefore 6 would be tops for gaining any significant speed. But that is based on the LS 8 speed, so I could be mistaken.

7 and 8 are indeed overdrive gears. Like I said before, this is just the old 6-speed unit from the LS430 with 2 extra gears, a new torque converter with lock-up from 2nd to 6th gear and it matches revs on the downshifts. upshifts are very quick - 100 ms. Which matches the ZF 6-speed units and the 7G tronic AMG speedshift.

Those 7 and 8 are just overdrive gears.

Oh man. Listen to the exhaust at 00:49. That's very nice.

Wow only 3 comments on an IS-F blog, rats, four.

just wait. there's probably going to be a couple hundred.

That is a pretty boring video, but one thing: the IS-F looks MUCH better in motion than in still images.

Usually Lexus' look better in person than in pictures.

Can someone remind me why having 8 speeds is so amazing? 240 kph in 6th, why 2 extra gears? (don't hit me with, oh thats only 150mph and the IS-F is good for at least 260 mph, Veyron be damned!)

Well one amazing thing about it is that it shifts as fast as a manual transmission when you put it in manual mode. That's pretty cool. Most take a second or two to shift.

Yeah, it's pretty awesome. I love it too. I like the part when they drive off slowly (01:06). The engine sounds so nice.

The car sounds good. Most cars do not pull top speed in high gear and I expect top speed to be hit in 5th or 6th. The styling tweaks done to make the IS-F look different seem very boy racer to me, not sophisticated or refined. Unless Lexus does something about the IS's dead steering it is just going to be another really fast car like AMG's. BMW and Audi just seem to understand steering feel and subtle but agressive styling better than the rest. I appreciate that this Lexus's first real effort and I look forward to other models.

Nice sound.

Pretty impressive. It sounds great when it blips the throttle before downshifting, and it does shift quite fast the way it sounds, if I didn't know better I would never think it was an automatic transmission.

downshift blips do sound impressive. but unlike most lexus fans, im more interested in on track performance. i hope BM does a 4 way shootout.

Must admit, the car looks a lot better than in pics. The engine sounds great too (although not quite as vocal as the V8 in the C63 AMG).

I am just glad that within the space of one year, there are now so many new performance compact saloons to choose from (M3, C63AMG, IS-F)with the handling and performance to match or better many so-called sports cars or supercars - not everyone can afford several cars at one go but having one of these babies means having the best of both worlds, practicality and fun.

The car is pretty fast but sounds nothing special. The M3 has the typical M induction noise, the RS4 sounds like thunder and NASCAR put together and the C63 sounds like nothing else out there. With the exhaust valves open, it didn't pass the sound regulation test in Europe. It's brutal.

Looking at the speedo the car is nicely accelerating but seriously it will be slower than its competitors. When I drove the M3 I was in no time driving 270, in 5th gear at the rev-limiter. The RS4 was a hint slower than the M3, probably because of the AWD and the engine. And I have yet to drive the C63, but I think we know who will be the fastest on the autobahn.

It sound pretty nice, that is a fact. But it doesn't sound distinctive. When I close my eyes I can hear an M car coming. It lacks personality, that is it's major problem. and please, name one petrol v8 that doesn't sound good?

so what if there are 4 passengers on board? a C63 with 5 passengers on board will still be quicker! by ALOT!

I don't like it

According to your name you hate all Lexus vehicles. Therefore, your comment carries zero weight except to you and other Lexus haters.