Lexus IS 500 Ultimate Edition: The performance sedan's V8 swan song

Culmination. An ode.

In the motoring world, those two words mean the end of the road for a particular model. This time, Lexus is speaking those words for the IS, and it does look like this could be it for the brand’s compact rear-wheel-drive performance sedan. But much like any other performance car, Lexus won’t be driving off the IS quietly into the sunset.

Lexus has revealed the IS 500 Ultimate Edition, which further adds presence and capability to the IS 500 F Sport Performance trim. Featuring slight exterior tweaks and special badging, the IS 500 Ultimate Edition will have a limited run of 500 units, possibly being the final examples of a performance sedan with a naturally aspirated V8 engine.

On the outside, the IS 500 Ultimate Edition comes in a special color called “Wind” – a metallic light gray finish that gives a nice contrast to the matte-black 19-inch BBS wheels and red brake calipers.

Inside, the interior is finished in a circuit red and black color scheme, including red seatbelts. As a standard procedure for limited-run examples, the IS 500 Ultimate Edition also wears a plaque that denotes its number in the 500 unit run.

Powering the IS 500 Ultimate Edition is still the 2UR-GSE. The naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V8 delivers 473 PS and 535 Nm of torque in the rear wheels through an 8-speed Sport Direct Shift automatic transmission.

Lexus says the IS 500 Ultimate Edition will go on sale by the end of the year in the US market. If this is truly it for the IS and its naturally aspirated V8, then it was indeed a great 25-year run.