Can Lexus take on Mercedes-AMG and BMW M? Brand-wide performance overhaul coming to Australia as Lexus revs up

Lexus has begun a brand-wide performance overhaul, with the all-new RX 500h to lead a high-performance charge that takes aim at Mercedes-AMG and BMW M.

Lexus is now in the process of launching into a new performance-focused future – one that begins with the all-new RX – with the brand to reinvigorate its F Sport line-up with the introduction of a new F Sport Performance trim level, and to expand its performance badges across its lineup.

The Lexus performance tiers will now step from F Sport (mostly cosmetic) to F Sport Performance (which will include key component upgrades like higher outputs and sportier suspension and brakes), before topping out with the full-fat F models (like the IS F and RC F).

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The idea is to shrink the gap between the regular Lexus models and any halo products, and to tap into a company-wide edict to inject driving fun into the brand's models.

Electrification will also future-proof the plan, as is evident with the impending launch of the Lexus RX 500h, which will wear the F Sport Performance badge for the very first time. That model adopts the most powerful powertrain, adaptive suspension and better brakes to unlock the most performance in the RX family.

Its new hybrid powertrain pairs a turbocharged petrol engine with two electric motors – one at the front and one at the rear – to deliver a total 273kW and 551Nm, with that power fed through a six-speed automatic gearbox (not a constantly variable transmission) and sent to all four wheels.

The sprint to 100km/h takes 5.9 secs, while the rear motor can deliver some 76kW to the rear tyres. It pairs with a 'DIRECT4' all-wheel drive system which the brand says improves "handling, controllability, and feel."

And that, says Lexus Australia chief John Pappas, is just the beginning.

"Performance is actually a core part of our Lexus DNA," he says. "The RX is now the first F Sport Performance as part of the F lineup in our range, and we’re going to continue to build on the F Line expansion over time, and then as part of our electrified range as well. We’ll build on that.

The RX F Sport Performance is expected to land in Australia 2023.

"F Sport Performance is now a new badge that we’ve introduced, but we will see that evolve. That’s our plan. We want to grow the F Line. I can't tell you what we're doing yet, but that's part of our strategy.

"We're going to expand that whole lineup to other models."

It's that last bit that has us salivating the most. The whole lineup covers F Sport, F Sport Performance and full-blown F, so an expansion will come as music to the ears of a performance-mad Australia.

That story is set to begin in early 2023, when the RX F Sport Performance lands in Australia.