Obviously Lexus isn't known for making performance cars, and that hasn't really ever been their target market until now. However, Lexus cars are essentially just fancy Toyotas, and there once was a time when Toyota made great sports cars. The lead designer on this car I read used to be on the Supra team, which is a good sign. The 86/BRZ is a great little car, and has gotten amazing reviews across the board (as a BRZ owner perhaps biased about the first statement there, but the second is objective). Personally I hope that this car is a big hit and leads a comeback for serious Japanese sports cars.
The styling is pretty controversial--I hate the grill as well, but love the rest of the car. That interior is just gorgeous. Love that it's a naturally aspirated V8, very powerful, lots of torque.
Obviously the arguments have already started about its performance vs. other cars, particularly the new M4--no one has tested either so it's all just speculation at this point. I think if it's as heavy as everyone predicts it will be it will be more comparable to an RS5 than an M4. It's easy to dismiss the Lexus since they don't have the sports car "heritage" that the Germans have, but anyone who's been paying attention to auto publications knows that BMW has been losing favor to competitors, including Lexus (the new IS beat the 335i in a recent Car and Driver comparison test), and, dare I say it, Cadillac (Motor Trend but the ATS ahead of the 335i and C350, CTS came in 2nd ahead of 535i and E350, behind the A6).
In any case it would be silly to choose any poll option besides "Too early to tell," because, well, it is. Obviously you'd expect a BMW forum to favor the M4, but I'm pretty surprised at the utter dismissal of the RC F by some. Sure I understand the opinion that it looks ugly, but aren't you more interested in how it feels to drive?
