Yukihiko Yaguchi is a quiet, self-effacing engineer. But he's also convincing and compelling—and tends to accomplish whatever he sets his mind to. For the 30 years he's been at Toyota, he's wanted to build a car that he'd want to drive and own. During his tenure at Lexus, Yaguchi has worked on the first and second iterations of the Lexus LS luxury sedan, the turbo-charged Toyota Supra and the first Lexus GS sport sedan. But none of those cars, however excellent, scratched his hardcore performance itch.

What he had in mind was a take-no-prisoners premium sport sedan that would equal or beat the best of its class from Europe. One with huge horsepower, racetrack-inspired handling and enormous stopping power.

Eventually, he got tired of waiting.

Yaguchi recruited his own special "skunk works" team—an under-the-radar operation populated by speed-crazy rogue engineers. This small group worked tirelessly in their spare time between regular assignments and developed their own vision for a true Lexus performance vehicle.

With the help of Toyota Technocraft, the IS F now boasts aggressive aerodynamics, an eight-speed Sport Direct-Shift transmission with paddle shifters, Brembo® disc brakes that feature huge 14.2-inch cross-drilled discs and six pistons per caliper up front, 19-inch wheels [1] and a specially tuned suspension system. Yamaha's Formula One engine program helped as well—developing the IS F's DOHC 5.0-liter V8. They packed it with more than 416 horsepower [2]—enough to blast the IS F to 60 mph in just 4.6 seconds [2] [3].

Then, they tested the IS F at racetracks including the legendary Nurbürgring Nordschleife in Germany, Circuit Paul Ricard in the South of France, Circuit Zolder in Belgium, Laguna Seca Raceway in California and Fuji Speedway in Japan. In fact, Fuji Speedway is the IS F's home circuit, and its many turns were the inspiration for the F-logo design. By the time testing was concluded, there'd never been a Toyota or a Lexus production vehicle that had been so rigorously track tested around the world.

The result is a true performance car for serious racing enthusiasts. It's the IS F, and its one of Lexus' proudest achievements to date. Finally, a car that Yukihiko Yaguchi wants to drive.