2015 Lexus V8 RC F coupe will mean the end of the IS F sedan

Lexus will kill off the V8 powered IS F super-sedan but will continue the V8 tradition with its new RC F coupe. The cars are similar in many ways, and the RC F coupe makes more sense as a sports car than does the V8 powered IS F.

2014 Lexus IS F Carried Over
The Lexus IS F sedan on sale now as a 2014 model is not the same car as the current 2014 IS 350 and IS 250 sedans. Lexus did not update the IS F in 2014, but made cosmetic changes and carried the car forward unchanged from its prior years’ design. This was the first clue that Lexus would eventually consider the fate of the IS F in light of the new RC coupe family. Our expectation is that Lexus will extend the 2014 production a bit so that IS Fs can still be had into calendar 2015 if one looks around.

Many Lexus IS F Fans, Few Buyers
Although the IS F has a solid fan-base, it has not sold in large numbers by Lexus. Currently Lexus tells Torque News that the percentage of IS F models being sold as about 0.2%. Apply that to year to date sales for the IS line and the result is about 50 cars. Annualize that and the result is 100 cars. Not bad for a halo car, but Lexus will not need this car to serve that purpose when the RC F becomes available in the coming months. A dealer once told me that the unofficial nickname among Lexus salespeople is “In Stock Forever,” a take-off on its initials.

2015 Lexus RC F Will Replace IS F
The RC F that will carry the V8, rear-drive sports car tradition at Lexus forward will be a more powerful and more capable car than the IS F sedan is. The RC F engine will have a unique split cycle. Power will jump from 416 horsepower in the IS F to 460 in the RC F. That will top BMW’s 425 horsepower in the M4, but the M4 has slightly more torque. Although these two cars seem like direct competitors, the designers don’t think so. The BMW’s designer envisioned a race car that was road-legal, whereas the designer of the Lexus RC F set out to create a car anyone could make the most of on the road.

Lexus has not confirmed any of this. We are strictly using logic and facts to predict what will happen. We’d be happy to be proven wrong, but the evidence points to this unique Lexus being retired at the end of the 2014 model year run.

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