Two Mystery Lexus IS F SPORTs Spotted in California

[mikeavelli]

Is it infared like the RC models??? If so I think this will be my next IS

Hey bud, a birdie in the grapevine confirmed that the color is Redline and is coming for 2016. I assume on F-Sport models only.

 

[I8ABMR]

Good eye Mike. Interesting........

 

[Tinhinnh]

AWD ES is RX They wont offer ES with 3 engine choices at least for now (dont forget the 200hp hybrid)

Yes, and the old V6 is looking dated and least fuel efficient of 3 possibilities making its long term future questionable. ..

Is the New RX is using updated V6 or GS' 2GR-FSE?

 

[Mohammed Taha]

The black tape one looks like an F. The white tape i'm going to assume is a hybrid to differentiate the two?

You can sorta see an F in the black tape.

 

[Lexticity]

It's the IS2.0 Turbo
Anyone notice that there is no headlamp NIPPLE washers?
Coming soon....Watch out for the LX Diesel 5 seater, GS2.0T, RC2.0T and RX2.0T

 

[Bulldog 1]

Lots of fun speculating here. But I'm personally not interested in a 4 cylinder anything.
As a current (and recent) purchaser of a 2015 IS250 F SPORT and 2015 ES350, I'm satisfied with the normally aspirated V6 engines.
I rejected BMW, MB, Buick and Cadillac specifically because of their standard 4 cylinder engines.
I do agree a RWD ES could be intriguing but would also significantly reduce the massive back seat floor space with a transmission tunnel.
I'm sure they won't but I hope they don't drop MRM from the color palette.
Guess I'm glad to be "stuck" with these two 2015's for two years, thereby bypassing the difficult decision of bypassing Lexus based on color or engine choices.

 

[Gecko]

A few thoughts on this thread:

ES:
- FWD is generally "good enough" in bad weather, and I think that adding optional AWD might elevate it to a higher position when Lexus wants the GS to be the midsize sedan with an AWD option
- Putting the 2.0T into the ES poses one problem: it requires premium fuel in a vehicle that has historically always taken regular. That might sound insignificant to some of us, but many ES consumers are very cost conscious and would probably see this as a turn off.
- ES will never be RWD - that is GS!

IS:
- I believe that we will see Lexus follow suit with what the Germans are doing and drop the "t" in favor of a numerical designation that reflects a displacement of a similar sized engine. I do believe that we will see 2.0T renamed as "300" instead of "200t." That means IS300, RC300, GS300, and probably eventually NX300.
- If Lexus' next generation of gasoline engines are all (or mostly) turbocharged, the naming there will get messy quickly. Think about it: LS 500t L, GS 200t F Sport AWD, IS 350t F Sport...it's just a little "too much."
- I think we'll see "h" stick around for hybrids and of course "F" for performance, but I assume that "t" will go away.

The only case I can see for a 3.0L V6 is for it to be turbocharged, which would probably be more like a "400" than "300t." A big part of this naming piece is marketing, too. "GS 300" sounds more substantial to a consumer than "GS 200t." Same for (hypothetical) "LS 400" than "LS 300t" if the next gen LS is to have a standard turbocharged V6 option.

 

[IS-SV]

Yes, latest 328's and C300's are 2.0L turbo 4's. Mercedes and BMW have gone to fancy numbering not reflecting engine displacement some time ago.

 

[Carmaker1]

A few thoughts on this thread:

ES:
- FWD is generally "good enough" in bad weather, and I think that adding optional AWD might elevate it to a higher position when Lexus wants the GS to be the midsize sedan with an AWD option
- Putting the 2.0T into the ES poses one problem: it requires premium fuel in a vehicle that has historically always taken regular. That might sound insignificant to some of us, but many ES consumers are very cost conscious and would probably see this as a turn off.
- ES will never be RWD - that is GS!

IS:
- I believe that we will see Lexus follow suit with what the Germans are doing and drop the "t" in favor of a numerical designation that reflects a displacement of a similar sized engine. I do believe that we will see 2.0T renamed as "300" instead of "200t." That means IS300, RC300, GS300, and probably eventually NX300.
- If Lexus' next generation of gasoline engines are all (or mostly) turbocharged, the naming there will get messy quickly. Think about it: LS 500t L, GS 200t F Sport AWD, IS 350t F Sport...it's just a little "too much."
- I think we'll see "h" stick around for hybrids and of course "F" for performance, but I assume that "t" will go away.

The only case I can see for a 3.0L V6 is for it to be turbocharged, which would probably be more like a "400" than "300t." A big part of this naming piece is marketing, too. "GS 300" sounds more substantial to a consumer than "GS 200t." Same for (hypothetical) "LS 400" than "LS 300t" if the next gen LS is to have a standard turbocharged V6 option.

Both "300" and "200t" are coming as per a Lexus insider for the 2016 model year. It is not directly replacing 200t at all. If I recall, the "300" engines for RWD-based Lexus models are a detuned version of the current 3.5 litre 2GR-FSE. We will have to wait for insider information or new trademark filings to determine if "t" is truly dropped, in favour of "LS 3.0TT+1.0=LS400".

It likely won't be, seeing as LC500 likely refers to 5.0 litre V8. The only question is if, that LC500 is powered by the proposed new 5.0 litre twin-turbo V8 and not the naturally aspirated RC-F/GS-F 2UR-GSE power plant, an update of the IS-F engine. I had believed a TTV8 is coming after being briefed, but at this point I will just wait until that is reconfirmed.

The 3.0 litre twin-turbo 6-cylinder will definitely arrive in the LS and/or LC (which ever comes first), but the V8 could easily be naturally aspirated and TTV8 saved for a TS650 TMG-inspired LS-F and LC-F.

Marketing is definitely the name of the game in this regard as well, as I didn't know the model name of XE until late 2013 and I first saw the car months before that at work (Whitley Centre).

 

[iDriveIS]

I wonder if changes to the interior and/or Enform system are coming? Any thoughts?

 

[CIF]

Well Gecko, I'd have to disagree with the idea that Lexus might drop the "t" nomenclature and change their naming scheme. That would be too confusing for customers, and IMHO would be un-Lexus-like.

Also on the note of the 2.0T engine for the ES, it's possible they could tune it to utilize regular instead of premium gas. Toyota has mentioned in the past that this engine is highly tunable and configurable, so I would imagine that this is possible.

 

[IS-SV]

Lots of fun speculating here. But I'm personally not interested in a 4 cylinder anything.
As a current (and recent) purchaser of a 2015 IS250 F SPORT and 2015 ES350, I'm satisfied with the normally aspirated V6 engines.
I rejected BMW, MB, Buick and Cadillac specifically because of their standard 4 cylinder engines.

I tend to agree with you on this, especially when I'm selecting a 300ish hp version of a given sport sedan.

But on the 4 banger thing in premium cars, especially for entry level engines (1.8L to 2.0L direct-injected, balance shaft, turbo 4 bangers to be specific), these new 4 bangers can be just as satisfactory as small V6's. I dislike and will not own 90% of the mainstream 4 bangers, the NVH especially at higher revs is not good, my kitchen sink garbage disposal sounds better than some. Mercedes and Audi have done a excellent job with small turbo 4's (for base engines). Premium machinery has a certain sound (including smoothness to redline) and feel that a lot of lower line carmakers don't seem to care much about, I'm pretty sure Lexus is capable of delivering a turbo 4 as sweet as Mercedes and Audi 4's today.

I can give you a Mercedes comparison later in same C class sedan (3.0L V6 vs 1.8L turbo4), but in short the turbo4 is faster, 10% more economical, and smoother and just as refined up to redline. Sure the 3.0L was a 90degree V6 with balance shaft but still the comparison is reasonably valid. 100 less pounds of weight on the front wheels is nice too.

 

[spwolf]

my 2 cents:

1. ES 2.0t is not coming. Lexus has ES200 and ES250 for some markets and 3.5l GR will get D4S and vvt-ie for 300hp and smaller consumption (whenever that happens).
2. IS, RC and GS300... maybe for some reason 2.0t cant fit current IS/RC/GS with AWD and hence Lexus will be using 300 AWD to fit that lower end AWD market.
3. 3GR engine will be updated same as 2GR with new D4S and VVT-iE, for more power and more mpg at the same time.

New 2.0t option will be much much better than 208hp 2.5l GR engine.... it has loads of torque from down below, something that old engine was really missing - and I know since I tried that ill concieved GS250, awful! GS200t will not only get better consumption, it will be much, much faster in real life. 2GR-FSE updates will make it more economical as well, i cant wait to see the differences between 2.0t and new 2GR!