Lexus IS-F design to influence F-lineup, even though it ain't pretty

Lexus has received its fair share of flack for the styling of the new IS-F sports sedan. The gaping gills and misshapen snout – the most radical exterior elements – have done little to distinguish itself from its lesser brethren, and the interior is largely unchanged, save a few badges and trim pieces.

Lexus execs have recognized that more has to be done to separate the performance brand from the run-of-the-mill models, but even so, they maintain that the IS-F will serve as the design template from which other F-badged offerings will be based.

Toyota Motor Corp.'s design chief, Wahei Hirai, admitted that Lexus' aim of competing with the AMGs and Ms of the world would take a different tact than its Germanic rivals. Hirai is quoted by Wards as saying that "They appreciate consistency, or continuity, very much. We like to make (our vehicles) a different way." Difference for difference sake is rarely a good thing, and the IS-F may have already proven that fact.

[Source: Wards]