Lexus wants to be more than just comfy and reliable. The Lexus brand hasn’t been known for performance and speed so the company is taking their cars around the country to change people’s mind. I got to attend the May 11, 2008 track day at the Autobahn Country Club. The day started off with driving simulators and instruction from professional drivers.

After a lesson on vehicle dynamics and thinly veiled sales pitch for Lexus cars we got to take some cars for a spin. There was a short autocross where we got to drive around in either an IS250, IS350, or GS450h. The ISs featured F Sport Performance Accessories. The braking and exhaust note on the IS350 that I drove was amazing.

The one disappointment of the day was the constant rain we got that day. Because of the rain we did not get to drive the new Lexus IS F. I was really looking forward to driving the IS F, but they made up for it by giving us a ride in the car with a pro driver behind the wheel. The driver in the car I was in was Jeff Andretti.