Report: 2014 Lexus IS based on Stretched FT-86?

[West]

We heard the 4-Door rumors some time ago, via CarGuide.com.au. Now Best Car is reporting the rumored 4-Door will be based off a stretched FT-86 platform, and will debut as the Lexus IS. We dont need remind you of Best Car's past, or that the FT-86 is a short/tiny car. Slapping a V8 in there with a modified chassis seems like a "stretch". Here are two articles, one from our friends at my.is and another road and track.



jruhi4 @ my.is

Conventional wisdom holds that the 3rd-generation Lexus IS will debut during calendar year 2012 (most likely at the Geneva Auto Show) for a 2013 model year debut as, most likely, an evolutionary V6-powered change on the current model. It is also expected to continue being a smaller platform-mate to the 4th-generation Lexus GS, itself expected to debut sometime during the 2011 calendar year. Yet, Japanese rumor-monger magazine Best Car is now reporting that the 3rd-gen Lexus IS has been held back one more year, to appear sometime in 2013 as a 2014 model, and as a derivative of the upcoming Toyota (or Scion) Subaru-powered FT-86 coupe!

Color us super-skeptical on this one. We fully expect the 3rd-generation of the Lexus IS to emerge as described in the introduction to this story. Further adding to the ridiculousness of this story (seemingly translated from the Japanese original by Sam Mitani of Road & Track magazine) is this passage: "...the IS will be powered by a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated (flat) 4-cylinder and/or a 3.6-liter flat-6. The 2014 Lexus IS F will continue with a high-powered V-8 that’ll make the luxury sedan a presence on the racetrack." Sure, the low hoodline allowed by Subaru's flat/boxer engines are an integral part of what makes the Toyota FT-86 concept coupe such an attractive design, and Best Car's rendering (shown above) has a very nice Aston Martin Rapide / Lotus Eterne feel to it, but sticking the IS F V8 in there, when Lexus had to raise the hood line over that of the current, taller-than-a-boxer-engined V6 IS?! Somebody somewhere is smoking some seriously potent stuff if they think that can happen.

On the other hand, this story can't be totally dismissed, either. Rumors of a 4-door sedan derivative of the Toyota FT-86 (please note the Toyota badge on that rendering) have been around since early September of this year, and were the subject of a commentary article I wrote for the Kaizen Factor blog. We certainly wouldn't complain if this came to fruition, but don't expect it to be the next Lexus IS. And, while we're talking additional variants of FT-86, this author once again pleads with the powers-that-be at Lexus to create a small 2-seat roadster to take on the Audi TT, BMW Z4, Mercedes SLK and Porsche Boxster. It doesn't matter whether it's called the SR 360 or HN 360 in honor of Hiromu Naruse...

Road and Track report translated from Best Car

Although it’s nearly a half decade away, we are hearing reports that the next-generation IS sedan will make its debut sometime in 2013. The reason, according to our sources, is that work has started on a new 4-door sedan based on the FT-86 platform. For those who are not familiar with the FT-86, it’s the concept car that made news at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show. As the spiritual successor to the old Levin AE-86, a car we called the Corolla coupe, the rear-wheel-drive FT-86 will make its debut in June 2012.

As for the Lexus IS, this car will be built atop a stretched version of the FT-86 chassis. Toyota boss Akio Toyoda is keen on spicing up Toyota’s image into one with a more powerful emphasis on sport, so we hear the next IS will look and perform sportier than the current model.

While the FT-86 sports car will be powered by Subaru’s EJ20 engine (2.0-liter flat-4), the IS will be powered by a 2.5-liter naturally aspirated 4-cylinder and/or a 3.6-liter flat-6. The 2014 Lexus IS F will continue with a high-powered V-8 that’ll make the luxury sedan a presence on the racetrack.

[ej25ti]

hm idk
seems like rumors of rumors etc.

[Terrari]

World view: FT-86; US view, Scion.

2.0 Flat 4 for the FT-86

Debut in June 2012

Lexus IS to be built on a variant of the FT-86 platform: any design can fit a platform.

Good rumors though...