joshthorsc

And it only took Toyota ten years to decide that the 3.5 motor needed to be replaced. I'm looking forward to the new 3.5TT, but I have a feeling the new motor will be here to stay for the next ten years unchanged.

peteharvey

TMC can be very innovative when it wants to.
Eg back in the early 1980's, they moved into turbocharged 2.0/2.5/3/0 in-line sixes, and front wheel drive for their entry level cars.
By the mid-1980's, they had multi-valve engines with front double wishbone and rear multi-link suspension on the Supra and Cressida.
Late 80's, they moved into 2.5, and later 3.0 V6's, with 3.5 V6's by 2007.
Toyota was quick into variable valve timing too.
In the 80's, they moved into 4 speed autos, 2000's into 5 speed autos, then 6 speed, then 8 speed, and next year, TMC is about to debut 10 speed autos.
Meanwhile their hybrids pioneered the beltless eCVT.

Due to their high population, yet small land size, Europe has had to stipulate stringent emissions regulations which forced the Europeans to move into small capacity turbos and diesels.
TMC used a different technique, by leading the world with gasoline-electric hybrids, and hydrogen powered electric vehicles - both of which has not been as successful as TMC would have liked.
Hence, only now TMC is moving into small capacity turbos as a "stop gap".

Presently, both TMC and BMW are waiting to see how well the 2018 Benz and Audi battery powered electric vehicles BEV's go before they make their next move into BEV's.
I'm not sure how long small capacity turbos will last, and not sure how quickly BEV's will kick in, just like the iPhone with its capacitive screen transforming the cell phone industry back in 2007.
The electric motor is far more efficient and its peak RPM speed is far more flexible than the internal combustion engine, and it was only a matter of time before battery technology would improve.

Once the major manufacturers move into BEV's, Tesla will collapse, simply because there is no point purchasing a car from a grossly inexperienced chassis maker and manufacturer, when they can purchase a similar BEV from an experienced manufacturer and chassis maker like Benz, BMW, Audi and Lexus etc; it's not if Tesla is gone, but when Tesla is gone...
.

Vladi

Building an EV car will be all mix 'n' match and plug 'n' play components much like how they make laptops and other electronics today. It will come down to a fine tuning but major manufacturers will not have a broad lead in dynamics and especially consumer technology as they do enjoy today. Many new and old business will rise up to offer universal components and there will be many more Tesla like manufacturers of affordable and luxury EVs.

I solely believe that Toyota is betting against EV and will be among last major manufacturers to introduce fully electric vehicle.

Sulu

If electronics appliances truly were mix-and-match and plug-and-play, we would not have Apple smartphones differing from Samsung phones differing from Windows phones differing from Blackberry phones. The batteries and electronics chips in each manufacturer's phone may be made by the same supplier but they are not interchangeable (not even interchangeable between one manufacturer's different phone models).

I believe that the same will happen in the auto-making world, especially if we believe what Marchionne believes, that automakers will need to be a certain size in order to survive. It will continue to be dominated by the major automakers; small brands, if they are to remain in existence, will be tied to (subsidiaries of) larger automakers. The major automakers will continue to design their proprietary vehicle platforms, and buy batteries and electronics components specially configured to fit in their proprietary platforms. There will only be very, very limited mix-and-match.

GiantsFan

iTrader: (9)

The 3.5 is still competitive. I don't see why everyone is complaining. It's quick and efficient. Who cares if it's 10 years old!

I8ABMR

always playing catch up with the HP........... The lead in many things, but NEVER HP

ROYALISF

Agreed. I would love to see them toy around with a TTV6 F model. Hell even something like the TTV6 in the cts v-sport would excite me some...

SW17LS

The TTV6 is great for the GS, bummer for the LS, although it doesn't surprise me. Just drove a new 740 and the 6 just doesn't feel like an 8, felt the same way about the XJ and A8. There's just that hair more refinement, better sound, just a nice luxury item in a full sized luxury car.

The he power is there, but not the feel.

RNM GS3

Lexus is decades behind in engine development.
Its sad that Hyandai / Kia will have a turbo V6 out before Lexus.

BMW is on the 3rd Generation of its Turbo Inline 6.
Audi, MB, Jaguar, Maserati etc all have Turbo or Supercharged 6s for close to 10 years now!

Honestly this is a disgrace for Lexus - and where is the turbo V8?????
The fact they are planning to put the same engine from RCf and GSf into the new LC coupe shows how bad their engine development is.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

I just saw this article:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/toyota-s...-v6-92374.html

LNN isn't always the most reliable source when it comes to rumors but this might make sense. I was hoping Toyota and BMW collaborating on the Z4/Supra platform meant they would share the BMW B58 inline six turbo engine... which might be worked over a bit by Toyota and Yamaha.

But after learning about this new Lexus 3.0 V6 TT engine and reading the LNN article it probably makes sense that Toyota would make their own high performance engine. I'm annoyed it isn't another I-6 but if you think about it this would mirror the strategy they used back in the early 90's when the 2JZ-GTE engine was first sold in the Aristo sedan and then the Supra.

Today it's the same thing... just with a V6. Now here's hoping this V6 is specially overbuilt to handle more power than stock, at least the way the GTR's V6 can do the same.

Also... this article seems to suggest Toyota has been wise not to employ the BMW B58 inline six for their Supra (in the same way the GT86 and BRZ share a Subaru engine):

http://www.autoevolution.com/news/bm...ght-99845.html

I hadn't realized that the BMW M2 coupe uses the older N55 engine. There is probably a good reason for that given the car's mission.

This is making me think that, I-6 vs V-6 argument aside, Toyota may be on the right track after all if a true high performance turbo engine is what they are going for even when factoring in hybrid capabilities.

spwolf

decades, really? lol

evident

maybe "A" decade

situman

BEV will not happen unless people can recharge the car's giant battery in the same amt of time it takes to fill up a gas tank. Who wants to spend an hr or more to charge the battery every 3hrs of driving? One way is to standardize easily swap-able batteries like a flashlight and have battery swapping stations all over. Of course the quality of the battery has to be standardized too. Some Ikea quality batteries will not do.

Aron9000

The 2GR-FSE V6 is a great engine. It was a great engine when it debuted 8 or 9 years ago as well. Since then the competition has caught up with torquier and more powerful forced induction engines. I still think it would be a great base engine for something like the GS, NX, RX, IS, with a turbo six optional(and no silly turbo 4 cylinder at all).

About the only thing I don't like about it, or most V6's is the sound. I have a lot of seat time with this engine in a Camry, sounds like a vacume cleaner when you step on it. An inline six(like the 2JZ in my Lexus) sounds so much nicer and is just butter smooth throughout the rev range. I know Toyota won't do an inline six because you can't mount it transversly, so it would be limited to higher end RWD Lexus products like the IS, GS, and LS. I'm betting they'll stick this twin turbo V6 in the RX at some point as well, that would be a good way to inject some fun into what a lot of people perceive as a rather dull to drive car.

Stroock639

exactly, i've gotten very spoiled from having such a good V8 to use, anything less just wont do! instant grunt when you want it, incredibly smooth and linear power delivery, and the sound just can't be beat. and if i go into full-on hypermiling mode the mpgs are pretty decent too. under ideal conditions my LS still gets like 30 mpg at like 70 mph... and even if it wasn't so efficient, the LS is an $85,000 car that will be sold in relatively low numbers. the environmental impact from the LS is so small in the grand scheme of things i think they can get away with keeping a V8 under there. just make it a "smart" V8 with cylinder deactivation, maybe incorporate toyota's valvematic technology that's used in the corolla of all things and it really wouldn't be the polar bear crushing gas guzzler everyone's afraid of.