John Roca, the chief executive of Lexus Australia, just can’t seem to help himself when it comes to leaking new product announcements. In an interview with The Australian, Roca dropped information about a number of new vehicles in the Lexus pipeline:
- Lexus will be expanding the F lineup to include the GS-F, which was rumored last year, and quite possibly a LS-F, both of which could be powered by a V10.
- There’s definitely plans to produce a new entry-level Lexus, positioned under the IS, which would compete with the BMW 1 Series and Audi A3.
- The dedicated hybrid, expected to be announced at next year’s Detroit Auto Show, would be separate from the new entry-level car, though that makes very little sense to me.
- The IS coupe/convertible is being tested in Australia right now, and is expected to be released late next year.
- The LF-A, seemingly stuck in concept form, will definitely see production, though it might not happen until 2011. Roca mentions that it may only be available in a left-hand drive configuration.
- Lastly, the next generation RX will be released next year, and will remain a 5-seater. (This mirrors the comments of a poster on my site, who also says there’s a 7-seater on the horizon, most likely the JX we heard about last year.)
For a short interview, this is a lot of verified rumors. It’s unclear exactly how the new entry-level model is going to play out, and whether this Lexus “Prius” will be separate or the very same thing.
I’ll admit that the possibility of a LS-F has me intrigued, but it’s safe to say it’s at least 2-3 years away.