I've heard a rumor that these were going to be the new IS sedans in the states for the 2016 model year. I heard it second hand from a friend whose manager was in Atlanta for a Lexus meeting. Can anybody add anything, or debunk the rumor?
Supposedly the IS 300 was to have more power than the 350 just not sure how the power train is configured. The 200t is obvious, I think we've all been waiting for that, but I was surprised to hear about the IS 350 going bye-bye.
Doesn't make any sense that a '300' would be more powerful than a '350', does it? At least not in the Lexus logics... So it would be a bit strange that a '300' replaces a '350', unless it is a '300t' (which it isn't)
Thanks to Atkinson-to-Otto dual cycle functionality plus VVT-iE, a renewed 3-liter GR V6 can most likely exceed the current 3.5-liter GR V6 in every way, performance and fuel economy. The passage that Krew highlighted in his article omits the end of that paragraph:
"Let’s not be needlessly pessimistic, though, as this (the numbers cited above) may be mitigated by the extra gear ratios on today’s automatic transmissions and possible greater-than-noted performance gains from the dual cycle + VVTiE enhancements (it is widely believed that the newer 2UR-GSE 5-liter V8’s true performance potential was curtailed by the decision to avoid the U.S. EPA gas guzzler tax, whereas a 3-liter V6 has more leeway in that regard)".
In other words, I personally believe that the true potential performance gains in version 2 of the 2UR-GSE 5-liter V8 were deliberately held back by an overriding need to avoid the gas guzzler tax. Starting with a smaller and inherently more fuel-economical V6, Lexus engineers could probably squeeze out a higher percentage gain in performance and fuel economy numbers alike. To what extent? That's the $64,000 question that remains to be answered...
