Japanese Car Auction Find – 2012 Lexus GS350 F Sport

With the unveiling of the new Lexus GS F high-performance supercar at this week’s 2015 Detroit Motor Show, we thought it would be a great time to showcase a regular Lexus GS up for auction in Japan.

Today’s Japanese car auction find is a 2012 Lexus GS 350 F Sport. Not to be confused with the new Lexus GS F, you can tell this is a normal GS by the number ‘350’ coming before the F instead of after, and by the extra ‘Sport’ delineation.

This is actually the only fourth-generation GS sedan up for auction in Japan at the time of this writing. The fourth-generation GS, which debuted in 2011 and went on sale in January of 2012 as a 2012MY, was a particularly important one for the Lexus GS sedan. That’s because this generation was when Lexus was overhauling their entire lineup’s design language, the distinguishing feature of which is the pinched spindle grille that so characteristically defines the Lexus we know today.

As an F Sport variant of the Lexus GS, the car you see here showcases a sharper exterior than what you’d get out of the standard GS models. You have a more aggressive front fascia with a lowered bumper and an extra mesh grille insert below the standard pinched grille. You’ll also notice 19-inch F Sport chrome alloy wheels of a distinctly darker shade than the unpainted aluminum in the standard GS. The changes to the rear are more limited, with the most noticeable difference being the rear spoiler sculpted into the trunk. This particular model also has a sun roof for that natural interior lighting.

However, the biggest difference between the standard Lexus GS and the Lexus GS F Sport that you see here isn’t in the exterior styling… It’s in the tuning and driving dynamics. To start with, the F Sport comes with a performance-tuned suspension similar to that of the Lexus GS Luxury package. The cool thing about this is that it can be varied depending on the type of performance you want in the moment; Normal mode is a great fit for daily city driving, but Sport and Sport+ modes stiffen the suspension for more aggressive cornering and an overall more engaging drive. The F Sport also offers stronger brakes to handle that extra performance, which allows you to use the 3.5L engine to its fullest 306hp potential.

Oh, and we almost forgot to mention the rear-wheel-steering-system that defines the GS F Sport’s driving dynamics. This system adds extra turning capabilities to the rear wheels, which admittedly takes some getting used to because it makes the steering MUCH more responsive. But, once you do become accustomed to it, you’ll enjoy the light steering and the extremely tight cornering and turning circle the F Sport model is capable of.

Moving inside, the Lexus GS F Sport exhibits the definition of a luxury interior, as you’d expect from a Lexus. You’ll get special F Sport front seats with adjustable side bolsters, so you can keep the seating as “grippy” as you’d like it to be. It also gets a specially sculpted steering wheel to make it feel more natural in your hands. And of course, you can see in the image above that there are a plethora of tech. amenities inside the cabin, including a truly massive 12.3 inch widescreen dashboard display with split-view capabilities and the Lexus Remote Touch mouse controller system, which is much easier to use while you’re driving than a standard touchscreen device.

Other amenities include Lexus’ trademark S-FLOW system, which sends air only where needed to enhance comfort levels and improve fuel efficiency. You’ll also enjoy a Mark Levinson surround sound system, 10-way adjustable power seats, and safety features like blind spot monitoring and lane keep assist.

All in all, this is an incredible Japanese car auction find that proves the quality of cars to be found in our Integrity Exports auction database. If you’d like to learn more about this particular model, get a full translation of the auction sheet below:

“Interior A, first registered February 2012, GS350 F Sport model, AT, AC, service book, power steering, sunroof, original AWs, power windows, leather, original TV, original navigation system, airbag, DBA emissions code, seats have minor wrinkles, front windscreen stone scratches, stone scratches at front of car, other marks as per map”