You Can Now Buy a Lexus GS F for Less Than $40k
Depreciation is such a wonderful thing when it comes to used luxury cars. Sure, you can plunk down $80,000 for that fancy Lexus that you’ve been eyeing, but wouldn’t it be better if you just waited a few years? Such is the case for one such luxury car: the Lexus GS F.
You can still buy one new for about $85,000, but why do that when you can get basically the same car, albeit a little older, for around $40,000?
The Japanese muscle car
The Lexus first debuted for the 2016 model year and when it came out it was essentially a Lexus RC F with two more doors. It had the same engine but was based on the existing GS sedan chassis which meant that it had a useable back seat.
While Lexus has always been historically known for being soft and plush, the GS F aimed to kick things up a notch and compete with the likes of the Audi RS7 and the BMW M5.
Of course, a muscle car-like Lexus sounds about as scary as an angry chinchilla, but Lexus already showed that they can do “sporty” seriously with the advent of their flagship LFA supercar, and the GS F was a further testament to it.
Powertrain
The Lexus GS F is powered by a 5.0-liter V8 engine that produces 467 horsepower and 389 lb-ft of torque and is mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters. All the power is sent through both rear wheels thanks to a torque-vectoring limited-slip differential.
The beauty of this V8 lies in its technologically advanced features. It gains a large part of its power from direct injection and maintains its efficiency by switching to an Atkinson-cycle operation under lighter throttle loads and then back to the Otto cycle when maximum power is needed to get the engine up to its 7,300 rpm redline.
In their review, Car and Driver tested the GS F and came back with a 0 to 60 time of 4.4 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 12.9 seconds.
Body
The Lexus GS F utilizes the same body as the more subtle GS sedan, however, it has some added race-car spice with its larger 19-inch BBS wheels wrapped with super sticky tires, a lower stance, and a rear decklid spoiler.
The chassis of the GS F was beefed up as well. Lexus added some extra spot welds, adhesives, and six cross-member braces to stiffen things up, in addition, the stiffer suspension. Taking care of stopping duties is a set of fixed-caliper Brembo brakes.
Fuel economy
Believe it or not, this fire-breathing Lexus sport sedan is actually rated at 16 mpg in the city and 24 on the highway. That’s pretty good for a 4,000-pound sedan with a high-output V8 engine.
Pricing
You can buy a new 2020 Lexus GS F to the tune of $85,000, and that’s actually how much it cost when it came out back in 2016. However, in today’s used market, we have seen 2016 models selling for $37,000 and up to around $73,000 for a 2019 model depending on the car’s location and condition.
Depreciation has an amazing way of working its magic on special cars like the Lexus GS F, so now you too can own an angry chinchilla that’s powered by a monstrous V8 less than half the price of a new one.
