With the Lexus IS convertible arriving in dealerships, two questions have started to come up—Will there be an IS coupe? And what about an IS-F version of the convertible?
The first question was posed to Lexus USA General Manager Mark Templin by Jalopnik, here was his reply:
“Since all the hard work of getting a two-door form factor has been done with the IS convertible, is there a possibility of an IS coupe in the future?”
With a sly look around the room, Templin responded: “Obviously, we’re making no announcements today, but it’s certainly something we should study carefully.”
As for the second question, Edmunds received this response:
“Right now, there are no plans for that [IS-F Convertible],” said Toyota/Lexus PR spokesman Curt McAllister. “We’re going to investigate how well the convertible does and make a determination from there.”
On its own, the IS convertible is arriving late to the party—the second generation IS design is closing on five years old, after all. If we use the first-to-second gen as a timeframe, Lexus should be planning on a new IS for 2012.
With that in mind, if a IS coupe was released next year, it would only have a single year of sales before becoming obsolete. The same thing goes with an IS-F coupe or convertible.
It makes much more sense to wait until the next generation—it’s not much of a stretch to think the next IS will be available in sedan, coupe and convertible styles, and that each could get the F treatment. This works well for BMW, and it would add significant weight to the Lexus lineup.
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