The sound is unmistakable. It’s a sport-tuned V8 in full song—more of growl, actually, that trails its vehicle in the still, cool air. The car begins another forceful lap under the shadow of Japan’s Mount Fuji, the driver wearing both a crash helmet and a grin. This is the Fuji Speedway›, venue for the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, and the vehicle making circuit after circuit is the new 2008 Lexus IS-F›.
Fuji Speedway
Fuji Speedway
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Situated in the foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, Fuji Speedway first opened as a road course in 1965. A noteworthy feature then was its 1.3 km straightaway, one of the longest in all of motorsports. In 1976 the track hosted the first Formula One event ever held in Japan, a race won by legendary driver Mario Andretti. Toyota purchased the track in 2000, and in 2005 completed a major reconfiguration. In September of 2007, Fuji Speedway will host the Japanese Grand Prix, its new 1.5 km straightaway the longest on the 2007 F1 race circuit.
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With its 400+ horsepower V8 and the world’s first eight-speed direct sport-shift transmission, the all new high performance Lexus IS-F literally puts exhilarating torque and intense speed at the driver’s fingertips. Designed, tested and refined on the world’s most challenging racetracks, the IS-F is a high-performance sport sedan that will grab the eye, seduce the ear and stir the soul.
Listening to changes in the engine’s pitch, it’s easy for observers to detect terse, ultra-quick shifts in the vehicle’s eight-speed gearbox as it screams around each corner, its brakes slowing things down just enough to hold a steady, high-speed arc before the car punches forward again like a jet fighter on afterburners.
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