2013 Lexus GS 350 F Sport Against Audi A7 Sportback

Lexus has high hopes for its brand new 2013 GS sedan in the highly competitive executive segment, or at least it does in the North American market because Europe is a different story. While one would consider the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, the BMW 5-Series or the Audi A6 more direct opponents for the GS, Road & Track magazine chose a different adversary in the form of the Audi A7 Sportback.
Audi's A7 may split the difference between a traditional saloon and a hatchback offering an in-between body style, but it in essence, it remains an executive model, so R&T's test is not too far off.
The Audi A7 is more expensive than the GS, but not as much as you'd expect. Not including a destination and handling fee, the base A7 with a 310hp 3.0-liter supercharged V6 starts at $59,250, while the Lexus GS 350 with a 306hp 3.5-liter V6 costs $46,900 plus $5,690 for the base F Sport package, which brings the total to $52,590.
You can watch the comparison in detail in the video that follows after the break.

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New 2013 Lexus GS F Sport Sedan in Japan

As soon as Lexus rolled out the new 2013 GS sedan in Japan on Thursday, its parent company's performance division, Toyota Racing Developments (TRD), came out with a selection of upgrade parts for the F Sport model. We'll remind you that the F Sport package for the new GS already includes an aero kit with different front and rear bumpers, a mesh front grille, side skirts and a rear spoiler along with 19-inch wheels and a tuned suspension.
So what does TRD's package add on top of that? Well, namely a pair of splats for the front bumper, an add-on part for the side skirts, a larger boot lid spoiler, a rear apron and quad tailpipes with a blue outline.
Performance upgrades are limited to a sportier suspension kit and exhaust system and a set of lightweight 19-inch alloy wheels in a dark finish.

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