Also included with the recent CAR Magazine LFA rumors was mention of a possible Lexus CT engine upgrade:
Toyota is working on two other performance cars separate from the FT-86 and LFA projects.
Information is sketchy at this point, but CAR understands one is a front-wheel drive car (possibly a go-faster CT200h) and one is a potential successor to the Supra.
It also sounds like future fast Toyota/Lexus models will switch from high-revving naturally aspirated engines – as in the LFA, ISF and FT-86 – to smaller, turbocharged engines.
Pure speculation on the part of CAR, but there’s a certain logic to it. I have to think a higher-powered CT is in the cards — the 1.8L engine was a great starting point for early adopters, but the market should really open up with some extra horsepower. The big questions is: Would Lexus ever consider using a non-hybrid engine in the CT?
Personally, I don’t think so — too much of the CT’s personality is tied into being hybrid-only, and moving away from that negates much of the brand-building that’s already occurred.
Instead, it’s more likely that Lexus will boost the CT’s hybrid powertrain with a more more powerful engine — something like the 200 HP 2.5L hybrid system used in the new Toyota Camry Hybrid. In fact, Lexus has already experimented with this, using a 2.4L engine in a CT “racecar” during this seasons’s VLN races and in a CT 200h Nürburgring Concept built by Lexus Australia.
Enough from me — what do you think Lexus should use in a higher-powered CT?
[Source: CAR Magazine]
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