What Toyota electrification instead of V8? Toyota so far has only ONE proper PHEV product and that's Rav4 Prime limited to 5K units. That's all it is to Toyota electrification. They don't even have Honda E competitor, not even in concept form. UX300e is Supra like, other's drivetrain technology implemented underneath Toyota shell. The only way Toyota can gun through BEV market in next 5 years is to use someone else's technology like Sony did for their prototype sedan. Nothing wrong with that but expect results to be mediocre at very best. They gambled wrong on FCEV, which by the way is great for heavy duty trucks, but it will never take off in pedestrian segment and now it's damage control time for Toyota.

I'm not sure how they are actually saving money by canceling already developed V8 but not canceling upcoming Mirai which requires whole hydrogen infrastructure in order for it to run. They are only canceling V8 because they can afford to throw away all that money not because they want to save money, they just don't want to bother with Lexus RWD vehicles that are not selling. That's it. They don't care about LS, LC or any future RWD SUV or sedan or coupe. Right now LS is nothing but a test bed for autonomous driving. Upcoming V6TT hybrid is coming not because of Lexus but because of Toyota trucks and large SUVs, otherwise it would have been canceled as well.

 

The end of an Era indeed was looking forward to whatever was next V8 wise from Toyota.

 

So someone at Toyota finally reigned in Akio. The person gave Akio the choice of a few mile long play ground or a new fancy V8 that everyone wanted, but he can't have both. I guess we know which toy he chose.

 

turbo cars from the factory do not have a lot of potential room without expensive engine strengthening. I can go buy a Mustang GT and have it at 750 rwhp with a $6k supercharger without any engine work, and the potential is even greater than that. Vipers can easily go 1200-1400rwhp on stock blocks, could it do that if it was a 3.5 V6TT ecoboost instead?

 

Just to play devils advocate

To be fair the Viper has 8.4 liters to play with

Ford's EcoBoost 3.5 has been a venerable engine since 2010. In the mid-engine GT, the EcoBoost has outputs of 660hp and 700hp.

 

But the cost of what you are proposing are in the thousands. A simple tune to give you 50-100hp is way cheaper and a cheap tune is what the casual enthusiast is after. What would Toyota gain from a V8TT? A couple extra LCF sales? The emission laws across the globe are tightening really fast (excluding the US of course) and I think Toyota realizes the potential for a radical change in emission regulations if a new administration comes in. Europe has already given a timeline on the death of ICE so it makes sense to divert resources to their EV powertrains (PHEV, FCEV, BEV).

 

Yet they cant make more than a few thousand RAV4 primes a year, after decades of Hybrid development and production.

 

Yeah...so strange because the RAV4 Prime is actually an excellent car. Near the top of its class and something I'd even consider for wifey (although she's interested now in the Model Y too). If you stuck that powertrain in the Lexus IS/GS, i bet it would get tons of sales. It would basically replace the old V6 and provide similar horsepower with insane mpg.

 

and has near zero potential after that because its already tuned to an inch of its life in the GT. And it still makes less mpg than an 8.4 lter if that matters any

 

Sad, Lexus is giving up competing against the Germans.

 

I don't see hardly anyone in their 30's and 40's in RX's or ES's, it is normally older people in those cars.

 

Most enthusiast and high hp cars are FI because of gov mandates/CAFE/fuel economy so they can get away with lower disp engines but still offer good power. Notice how just about every mainstream turbo 6 is 3.0l or less and just about every turbo 8 cylinder is 4.0 or less, it is because of disp taxes in some countries and 3.0 and 4.0 is the highest they can go before higher taxes. Hardly any enthusiasts wants a EV. I'll take "dinosaur" V8's and IC engines over EV's that take over 20 min to recharge and having range anxiety and issues on long trips.

 

According to CarMax in 2018, the average age of the Lexus buyer is 45. You can bet ES and RX which are the bread and butter of the brand contribute to that average.

https://www.carmax.com/articles/whic...oungest-buyers

 

That is still one of the highest age avg's, only Caddy and Buick are higher and I am willing to be the avg starts more in the 40's and a chunk of those in the 40's are more IS and RC buyers, I just don't see many in their 30's or 40's getting ES's and RX's. I am definitely a outlier, I got my first Lexus in my mid 20's and it was a GS430.

 

I'd rather an EV that does low 11s and has no maintenance cost vs. expensive to maintain ICE. I don't take my enthusiast performance cars on long road trips because thats what my family minivan is for. I can beat on my EV all day long and there is practically no stress on the drivetrain...guilt free speed with instant throttle response and torque. There are plenty of enthusiasts that want EVs...go to the driving performance section of the Tesla forums and you'll find mostly former M3 / AMG / 911 / Mustang owners. There are more enthusiasts joining those forums everyday. Most likely Toyota understand this and made the right decision in killing the V8 and focusing on the future.