Lexus could also be about to enter its sports activities automotive period.
Along with a rumored LFA successor, the Japanese luxurious marque might also be creating a 600-hp model of the decade-old RC coupé, in accordance with Highway & Observe. And, if for some motive that’s not thrilling sufficient for you, the automotive will include a guide transmission.
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Toyota, Lexus’s father or mother firm, stays as dedicated to the inner combustion engine as any main automaker. The corporate plans to launch a brand new lineup of combustion mills—together with a naturally aspirated 1.5-liter, turbocharged 1.5-liter, and turbocharged 2.0-liter powerplants—developed at the side of Subaru and Mazda later this decade.
Earlier this yr, Toyota held a press occasion in Japan to point out off what the turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine may do. Three prototypes have been featured throughout the exhibition, a Toyota Hilux truck, a Lexus IS sedan, and an RC. The final of the trio had a 600 hp ranking, in accordance with a journalist from the Japanese publication Finest Automotive (through Lexus Fanatic). That’s considerably extra oomph than the 311 hp produced by the present strongest RC, the 350 F Sport. The prototype, which the journalist wasn’t in a position to drive, additionally got here geared up with a six-speed guide.
The car is reportedly being developed for motorsports, however Highway & Observe notes that because it’s uncommon to discover a race automotive with a stick shift nowadays that would simply be a canopy story. The RC can be 10 years previous at this level, so the powertrain and transmission may very well be destined for one more car utterly. Regardless, a 600-hp sports activities automotive with a guide transmission is one thing that fans are sure to be enthusiastic about.
Lexus didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Robb Report.
Regardless of the 600-hp RC’s destiny could also be, it’s not the one high-performance Lexus that may very well be headed for manufacturing. This summer season, experiences began circulating that Lexus may launch a brand new supercar throughout the second half of the last decade. It’s stated to be primarily based on Toyota’s GR GT3 idea from 2002 and would compete within the 24 Hours of Le Mans. FIA homologation guidelines require that every one GT3 racers should even have a corresponding street-legal model, which suggests the roadgoing equal will possible go on sale someday earlier than then. The automotive, which has been known as the LFA’s non secular successor, may function a hybrid-assisted V-8 that makes greater than 600 horses.
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