The Lexus IS F’s V8 engine is unlikely to be used in the car’s eventual replacement, according to a Motor Report interview with Lexus IS Chief Engineer Junichiro Furuyama:
“That V8 is a little difficult to meet Euro 6,” Junichiro Furuyama, the 2013 IS’ chief engineer told TMR, referring to the current IS F’s 5.0 litre 2UR-GSE engine.
“The engine has a high performance focus, so the combustion condition is more severe than normal engines. It’s a little more difficult than making the V6 engines comply with Euro 6.”
“To produce more power and torque it runs leaner. That is the problem. We probably need a new engine for the F model.”
Furuyama-san doesn’t give much detail on what might replace the V8, other than to say “natural aspiration or turbocharged engines” could be used — a fairly broad statement, but lenda credibility to last year’s rumor that the next-generation IS F could use a twin-turbo V6. One thing’s for certain, the next F model will not be a hybrid:
“Sometime in the future, even the F model could become a hybrid,” Furuyama said to TMR.
“In future, yes, but for this generation, no.”
Once again, Furuyama-san’s reluctance to mention the IS F specifically gives some weight to the idea that IS F may be replaced by a new F model — this also has me curious about what might power the GS F, should those rumors prove to be true.
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