The F is short for flagship and Fuji Speedway, the chief test site of Lexus performance vehicle development in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan.

[3][4] The F designation was originally used at Lexus' launch in 1989, as an internal code for the development of its first flagship vehicle the LS.

[1] In late 2006, Lexus filed trademark applications for an "F" emblem, leading to speculation that the luxury marque was about to launch a performance brand.

[2] Company representatives mentioned in prior years of possibly starting a performance brand to compete with the likes of Mercedes' AMG, Audi's S/RS, Cadillac's V-series, and BMW's M division, among others.

[6][7] An earlier in-house tuning effort, the TRD-based L-Tuned, had offered performance packages on the IS 300 and GS 400 sedans in the early 2000s.

It was marketed that a "skunkworks" team directed by Yukihiko Yaguchi, who had previously worked on the Toyota Supra, had designed the new car.

The original LF-A concept had a 4.8 liter V10 engine which produced an estimated 552 horsepower (411 kW) with a claimed top speed of approximately 200 mph (320 km/h).

[24] Initially offered as a lineup of performance accessories for the IS 250 and IS 350 sedans, in early 2009 F Sport expanded to the two-door IS C models, along with the entire GS line.

F Sport parts are produced in conjunction with Toyota Racing Development and included performance enhancements such as brake upgrades, stabilizer bars, lowering springs, Bilstein shocks, F Sport clutch, carbon fiber engine covers, and chassis braces.

In the IS 500 F Sport Performance, this was developed to include the same 5.0 L (4,969 cc) 2UR-GSE engine offered in the IS F, RC F, GS F, and LC 500, but with a standard-width IS model body with raised hood bulge and stacked quad exhaust tips.

It also includes Yamaha rear performance dampers, F Sport–tuned Adaptive Variable Suspension, two-piece aluminum 14.0-in front and 12.7-in rear brake rotors, dark chrome window trim, F Sport Performance front door-sill scuff plates, IS 500 startup animation in multi-information display, and F Sport Performance 19-in staggered-width split-10-spoke Enkei alloy wheels, with optional 19-in split-seven-spoke forged alloy Matte Black BBS wheels.