Get a good look at this partially disguised Lexus IS at the legendary Nuerburgring Nordschleife. Note the pumped front end, the 19-inch BBS alloys, the monster brakes, and the massive, stacked quad pipes at the rear. This is the long-rumored Lexus IS 500, the 5.0-liter V-8-powered sport sedan aimed squarely at BMW's forthcoming V-8 M3, plus the V-8 AMG Mercedes C-Class and Audi RS4.
Word out of Japan is the 5.0-liter V-8 is based on the 380-horsepower, 4.6-liter unit in the newly launched Lexus LS 460. With a claimed 0-to-60 of 5.4 seconds, the big Lexus is no slouch and with what sources say is well north of 400 horses under the hood, the IS 500 ought to easily be the fastest production car ever built by Toyota.
An IS coupe is planned for 2008 and a convertible early the following year, though it's not certain Lexus will do IS 500 versions of these. Yet, given Mercedes's success in building AMG versions of just about everything, don't rule them out.