From Liz at Longo Lexus:

In October 2005:
'06 IS250 and IS350. The IS250 will have a 6 speed manual tranny OR a automatic V6 engine. The IS250 will have 220 horsepower. The IS350 is a V6 automatic ONLY, but will have guarranteed minimum of 325 horsies. The IS350 will have an available "Sport Package" with "18 wheels. Pricing will remain competitive and the IS will start around $32k-$33k, same as what we have now, but a top of the line will be about $45k.

In March 2006:
'07 ES350 will have a 3.5 liter engine with a completely new body style. The only thing they are keeping the same on the ES will be the headlight design.

In April 2006:
'07 RX350 will have the same updated engine as the ES

In May 2006:
GS450Hybrid will have a V6 hybrid engine, but be faster than the GS430.

In September 2006:
LS460Hybrid with 2 body styles, one 6 inches longer, will be added to the regular LS. Both will have 4.6 V8 engines.

In September 2006:
'07GS350 will have the updated engine, but same body style.

In September 2006:
'07 GS460 will have an updated engine.

In 2-3 more years the IS convertible with retractable hard top is coming for cetain. And other car ideas that are being tossed around also are the "Super LS" that will cost more than $100k and the "SuperCoupe" that will go 200 MPH.

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Also, it seems that Toyota is going to use the 3.5 GR V6 in much the same fashion that Nissan uses the 3.5 VQ V6, meaning that a lot Toyotas/Lexuses will have it. No doubt the next Camry, Solara, Sienna, and Highlander will carry the 3.5 GR as well.

 

The most recent schedule I've seen came from the "Fireside Chat" meeting for the dealer principals and GM's held in February. It listed the same introductions up until May '06. Next month on April 15th the Lexus RX400h hybrid will arrive. In June you will see the '06 LX470 with the higher horsepower VVT-i engine. In September the SC430 refresh will update the coupe/convertible. The ES330 Black Diamond edition will signal the end of the model cycle. In October the IS250/350 with a little less Horsies then predicted but similar. In the Spring the '07 ES350 and the following month the '07 RX350. In May the GS450h will be the second Lexus to go Hybrid. ( IS will likely be next) The rest is uncharted but Elizabeth's schedule makes sense and I'm hoping it stays that way. The GS350 is waiting for a V8 that will have more horsepower than it will........IMO

 

Wow! The next 18 months will be very busy for Lexus. I'm amazed that all that we have been discussing at CL lately will be launched in a year and a half time-frame. That would be a pretty unprecidented accomplishment - especially considering the depth of the changes. I know that the competition will not be standing still but I'd expect that Lexus will as a line significantly close that gap in HP/Performance with these new roll-outs.

(Now lets hope that we don't revisit the Performance Dark Ages due to an energy crisis!)

 

Well Lexus owners won't have too. Lexus is trying to eliminate all the negatives of cars, thus hybrids are here. It is a pretty big product onslaught that only BMW and Benz could possibly match.

 

Thanks for the info jrock.....I had a feeling the 3.5 V6 would make it into more models sooner rather than later (slightly different horsepower & torque number depending on the Lexus/Toyota model no doubt). Toyota/Lexus is smart that way to follow Nissan's thinking to have a 'corporate' V6 available on a wide range of models.

Now the only thing I'm getting very impatient for is to see 'spy shots' of the new 2007 ES 350 & I wonder if Lexus will offer AWD on the new IS & upcoming 5th generation ES?

 

We can have our cake and eat it too!

BMW does seem to be going through a heavy refresh cycle - and maybe I'm just not up on it - but it sure doesn't appear to be nearly a complete as what Lexus is doing. Very impressive. The Engineers at Lexus are very busy!!

 

No need to thank me. That is all Liz's info.

 

While the possibility is definitely there...I don't think the Germans will really pursue this as much as the Japanese have. The Germans never really have shown much interest in hybrids because diesel is all the rage and gives pretty much the exact same benefits as hybrid. But they sure do like hydrogen...I really like BMW's previous gen 750hl...that car was great

 

IS250 will be 220hp? Then Geneva numbers were not correct?

 

Euro versions usually are detuned slightly for better fuel consumption, on the other hand Japanese version of 2.5l engine has 215hp as it is, in Toyota cars... GS430 for example has 280hp in Europe, and RX is sold with 3.0 engine (200hp)...

So Geneva numbers might not tell the whole story...


If IS350 comes with 325hp, it will be an monster. Other schedules make sense as well.

Someone should combine liz's info and rockville's info, so we can have complete post with upcoming models, make it an sticky... awesome.

 

New US market GS300 is rated 245hp(SAE). Geneva presskit states 249hp(DIN) for European market. Weird. I really hope that European IS250 comes with 220hp, finally we could kick BMW 325i ***. Lexus needs that ***-kicking power in Europe if it wants to be player in here.

 

Based on this good info, I know this is not the case for everyone and most may not even care, but if you can wait around 1.5 years for your next car purchase / lease, why not hold out for a GS350, GS460?

I know you will never catch up to the latest and greatest, but a GS350, next year compared to a GS300 will seem like 2 totally different vehicles (even if the same body style). And maybe at that time, the GS350 / GS460 will also have sportier option enhancements to go with the added power.

Again, you can never catch up to the latest and greatest, so if you love the GS300 / GS430 now, then go for it. You would have to be very patient to wait to Sept 2006 for the upgraded versions. What a tough decision!

 

yep, consider also how Japanese tuned 3.0l engine has 255hp. However, what you have to keep in mind is that GS300 engine has better torque than 330i as well, so it is actually more powerful engine than in 330i.

On the other hand, IS350 should have more than 20% more torque than 330i, which is an huge difference... Avalon's engine has 260lbs of torque, while 330i wiill have only 220lbs of torque. So it will be at least 20% of difference there and with direct injection and more power, difference should impressive.

I am sure that BMW owners will then compare IS350 with M3 and conclude that BMW is faster :-)

 

A plus for Lexus but 1.5 year turnaround for one engine choice. That's a first for sure.

 

Well with the IS being so fast (possibly), I hope they get the handling as right as the current one. Now correct me if I'm wrong (Flip) but didn't Toyota have the 3.3 in the Camry when they debuted the ES 300? The RX became 330 and then the ES finally got the engine? Is this correct? If it is, then Lexus has kind of done this before. It was the first time the ES got a significant bump in power during its product refreshning. The 94/95 ES got a bump from 185hp to 188hp as they went alumiunum and lost the old iron block.
Besides peak power, I hope the gearing is aggresive and there is low torque available. And I hope it sounds good, gotta give it to Nissan, they really know how to tune that 3.5 to give it a nice stock sound in the 350Z/FX/G35.