Ok, we’ll need your help with this one. Toyota’s luxury division shared with Lexus Enthusiasts a mysterious snapshot of a new car, but without providing any details about its identity. All we have is this only image depicting what looks like a carbon fiber engine cover with F Sport badging, so what could it be?
As Lexus Enthusiasts points out that the hood is apparently the same as the RC F and the sealed GS F use with their natural aspirating 5.0-liter V8 engines. This does not necessarily mean that the actual engine hiding under it also has eight cylinders, especially since we are dealing with an F Sport model rather than a full-fledged F.
22 Photos
Yes, there is a somewhat wild rumor indicating that Lexus plans to launch no less than three F models with V8s later this year, but this is not one of them. Our money is on an IS500 as the company applied for this trademark in the United States on June 25, 2020. We have now checked the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website where ‘IS500’ appears with a release date of 10 November 2020.
While Best car websites report claims that the full-fledged IS F will use the well-known 2UR-GSE 5.0L V8, the logic says that an IS500 F Sport will pack six-cylinder power. It could be a twin-turbo V6-liter V6 with a significant increase in the 311 hp and 380 Nm of torque available in the current IS 350.
The warmer variant with forced induction allows Lexus to compete like BMW M340i, Audi S4 and Mercedes-AMG C43. The six-cylinder is attributed in the flagship LS500 sedan to 416 hp and 600 Nm (600 Nm), but it remains to be seen whether the smaller IS will have access to its full power.
We may not have to wait much longer to find out what Lexus Enthusiasts claims that additional details will be announced in the coming days. The big question is – V6 or V8? And what if it is not an IS? Exciting times ahead …