Wicked Enough: A Case For A Used Lexus GS400 In The Canyons


Wicked Enough: A Case For A Used Lexus GS400 In The Canyons

“Distant thunder, cold as stone/A V8 screams down from it’s throne/One by one, each car succumbs/Something wicked this way comes”

Blame marketing 100% for why I have a fondness for the second-generation Lexus GS. The cars themselves were interesting enough, but the “Something Wicked” ads were the kicker. While most people jump for the 2JZ-powered GS300, Lexus ran with the 1UZ 4.0L powered sedan as the highlight. Packing 300 horsepower in 1998 was a serious deal…the Mustang Cobra was pumping out 305 horsepower, the Camaro SS was up to 320 horsepower, and you’d have to step up to a BMW M5 to have threatening competition in the sedan market. They didn’t have the immediate attention-grabbing effect that, say, the 1994-96 Impala SS did, but for a Lexus, this thing would absolutely get gone with no issue whatsoever.

Ok, it’s quick by 1998 standards, but it’s a Lexus. Why is it here? It’s not because Matt Farah took this one through the California canyons. This GS400 is here because of the used car market. It’s the same logic I apply to the Angry Grandpa Chrysler: you can hunt used car lots and locate a decently priced GS400 on the cheap, and chances are going to be in your favor that it’s still in decent condition. Add in a brake upgrade, some pipes, suspension work, little bits here and there, and you step up from the car with the “Something Wicked” tagline to…well, something wicked.

 


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4 thoughts on “Wicked Enough: A Case For A Used Lexus GS400 In The Canyons

  1. Chevy Hatin' Mad Geordie

    How refreshing to see the original engine in place and not one of those prehistoric OHV pieces of junk called a Loathsome Slug…

  2. Patrick

    Have a 1999 GS 300 with the straight 6. 257000 miles and still purring along. Outside of brakes and oil changes I have only replaced the radiator and heater core. It might easily go to 350k plus.

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