Remember how Lexus was going to unveil the new 2021 Lexus IS sedan today? Well, the Toyota-owned company has decided to postpone the online event until a later date.
Lexus says that considering the recent global situation, it wants to respectfully postpone the debut event. It was scheduled to take place at 9am this morning (Australian eastern time), but says “revised timing will be announced” soon.
We were eagerly looking forward to the reveal for a number of reasons. Firstly, it was quite a surprise in the first place. The industry hadn’t reported any prototype spy shots and Lexus hadn’t really let it slip that it was planning a major update for the sleek sedan.
There has also been loads of rumours spreading about what the new model will entail. Some say there’s a V8 version – dubbed the IS 500 – in the works as a last hurrah for the existing ‘2UR-GSE’ 5.0-litre naturally aspirated V8, found in the RC F, GS F, and LC 500. Lexus has confirmed it is developing a brand new twin-turbo V8 which is expected to replace the aspirated unit.
Another idea we’ve heard on the grapevine is that there could be an ‘IS 400’ in the pipeline which could utilise the company’s new ‘V35A-FTS’ 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6. This unit produces 310kW and 600Nm in the latest LS 500. These outputs in the IS sedan would create quite an exciting drive experience.
We’ll have to wait and see to know for sure. Hopefully the company releases another, more revealing image when it announces the new debut date.
