Lexus has shared another early look at their next vehicle launch with Lexus Enthusiast, giving us a second teaser before any other media outlets. Before we dig deeper, let’s recap our thoughts on the first teaser from last week:
There are certainly no rules in regards to engine cover design, and there’s every possibility of a new powertrain lurking under this plastic shield. However, for the sake of analysis, let’s assume the V8 is the engine. The major difference is the logo — instead of the stylized F of the Lexus high-performance F brand, this new vehicle will be released as an F SPORT product.
The LC 500 is the only existing model to have the V8 and not offer a F SPORT option, but it feels too late in the coupe’s lifecycle to introduce such a model (Lexus does not generally change the engine cover as part of the F SPORT package). It could also be a V8 option for the LS, though again, the timing doesn’t seem right and the chance of aggravating current LS owners seems too great a risk.
All of this runaround logic brings us to the most obvious option — Lexus trademarked the IS 500 nameplate last year, and rumors from the usually-reliable Best Car Magazine suggest a V8 version of the IS has been in the pipeline for some time.
Given all we were able to decipher from a simple engine cover, this new image does little to dissuade our opinion that a special edition IS is on the way. In fact, compare this c-pillar with the existing 2021 IS, and the conclusion seems pretty obvious:
More details are sure to come in the following days, stay tuned for more updates about this vehicle as we get closer to the reveal date.
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