Recalibrate your image of Lexus. The 416-horsepower 2009 Lexus IS F, the fastest production Lexus ever, is the first Lexus to wear the brand's new F performance badge designed to compete with the BMW M series, Mercedes-AMG and various aftermarket tuners. Coupled to the Lexus IS F's 5.0-liter V8 is an automatic transmission that upshifts in a race-car-like 0.1 second. Lexus says that many IS F buyers will have owned Japanese performance cars such as the Mitsubishi Evo, Subaru WRX STi and Toyota Supra Turbo.