V8 powered Lexus RC F will beat Cadillac ATS-V to market

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Lexus will be the first premium automaker to directly challenge the BMW M4.

Torque News predicted that Lexus would introduce a V8 powered super coupe based on the IS 350 platform in September. The new 2015 RC-F will be unveiled at the Tokyo auto show in the coming week or so and the blogosphere is abuzz with the unconfirmed rumor that the car will have a 460 horsepower V8 engine. The car to be shown in January will not be the official production model, but Lexus is clearly already done with the RC 350 and there is no reason it would not be able to also launch the RC F as a 2015 model in this coming spring.

Fans of premium V8 sports cars will have a lot to choose from this coming year. BMW fans may have to shop other brands if they want a compact/mid-size sports coupe since the plan at BMW is to drop the V8 in favor of a turbocharged 6-cylinder engine in the BMW M4, and also in the sedan version of that platform, its legendary M3.

This is not speculation. BMW announced the engine in a press statement a few months ago. This writer tips towards Lexus. We completely understand the BMW M4 will be a beast and that fans of the car will come up with a thousand reasons why the new M4 with a 6-cylinder engine will be the right way to go. Unless you prefer a V8, which any honest sports car enthusiast does.

The Cadillac ATS-V could use either a 3.6 liter twin turbocharged engine that has now started to appear in the CTS-V Sport, or Chevy might shoe-horn in a small block V8. If that decision has not yet been set in stone (or aluminum as the case may be) Chevy may want to consider the extra two cylinders. As cars of this genre progress and the real world performance is maxed out, nobody much cares anymore how fast the automakers’ professional race drivers can fling their rides along a bankrupt toll road in Germany.

These cars are about more than just tenths of a second on a test track.

If you would like to see the supposed spy photos and read the blogosphere’s reasoning behind the V8 announcement this is a great place to start. We will hold off a bit longer and wait for the official release in a few days.

Please note that the small gallery photos are of the RC 350. All photos are official and courtesy of Lexus.