2025 Lexus IS500 Ultimate Edition First Look: Last of the V-8s, Ultimately

Motor Trend

20-05-2025

It's almost improbable that Lexus still sells the IS500 F Sport Performance, the version of its otherwise conventional IS compact sport sedan that debuted for 2022 with a 472-hp 5.0-liter V-8. The engine has no turbo- or superchargers and is assisted in no way by electrification. It's just a honkin' V-8 mixing air, fuel, and spark to propel a relatively small four-door sport sedan in a way that none of its four- and six-cylinder, forced-induction (and even all-electric) competitors offer any longer. Almost to celebrate its own audacity, Lexus is introducing a limited run of 500 IS500 Ultimate Editions.
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The modifications are more than the usual badge-and-sticker job, too, with Lexus swapping in larger 15.0-inch ventilated front brake rotors, red-painted six-piston Brembo brake calipers, and high-friction brake pads in place of the regular IS500's 14.0-inch, four-piston front stoppers. Also added? A lightweight set of 19-inch forged aluminum BBS wheels (in place of the regular IS500's Enkei pieces). Lexus also is introducing a new-to-IS paint color on the Ultimate Edition, "Wind," a cool gray that really pops with the matte-black-painted BBS wheels.
Inside, there are red seatbelts, a serialized badge commemorating the specific vehicle you buy, and red accents on the gauges and analog dashboard clock. Lexus even programs an Ultimate Edition–exclusive startup animation for the 8.0-inch digital gauge cluster display, a neat detail that seems easy in abstract but goes missed by far too many automakers when churning out special-edition variants. The seats and dash are slathered in NuLuxe faux leather and sueded elements, again part of an overall "color theme" of Circuit Red and Black.
Lexus could slather the entire car in Barney purple paint and dye the interior green to match, and it likely wouldn't dull our enthusiasm for this old-school sport sedan. Sure, the IS500 F Sport Performance barely outruns the length of its name—it's quick but not crazy quick, and its handling is better suited to fast roads than racetracks—but it more than makes up for any performance shortcomings by delivering far more visceral feels than much of the zippier but ultimately less soulful competition.
The IS500 Ultimate Edition therefore receives the regular IS500 F Sport Performance's 5.0-liter V-8 with no notes. We don't have any, either. So, buyers can look forward to 472 hp, 395 lb-ft of torque, a (somewhat lazy) eight-speed automatic transmission, and only the rear tires transferring that V-8's power to the ground. The soundtrack is great, and because the engine makes its power up high in the rev range, you practically must wind the V-8 out in order to access it.
The only question we have is this: With Lexus dubbing this special edition IS500 the "Ultimate Edition," is it implying some finality? The IS is nearing the end of its current life cycle, so this could be the V-8 version's swan song (although there isn't yet mention of the non-Ultimate Edition—which is still on Lexus's website—going away for 2025). This same engine is still powering the similarly old RC F coupe, too. But boy, we sure hope not—we're not ready to let go of the naturally aspirated V-8–powered, small sport sedan quite yet, even if BMW, Mercedes, Audi, and others have.