HA! Yeah, when I lived in LA the service guy at Bev Hills Lexus (a joke of a dealership in all areas, btw) told me I had an iron-block motor..

 

My favorite CL dealer story was in the ES forum when the dealer tried to sell the guy a rear differential service...on a FWD ES lol

 

LOL. Yeah that's the worst I've heard.

 

They'd be foolhardy to not put a twin turbo V8 in the next LS. Their competitors have had twin turbo v8's with about 450hp as the standard V8 option for several years now.

I suspect this twin turbo V6 talk is for the base model. BMW and Audi sell six cylinder versions of the 7 and A8 in the USA. Keep in mind in Europe you can get flagship cars with six and 4 cylinder engines as well, so this would help Lexus compete in Europe where fuel is $3-4 a liter. Right now with the current LS only offering a V8 and a very expensive hybrid option, it is a non-starter for the European market.

 

If new engine makes 415hp, like its rumored to be, and I don't expect it to make less than Infiniti then it will be quite sufficient and very different beast than 320hp 740i. I think USA is safe and will get 5.0 V8 in next LS but I'm not sure about other markets

 

In other market, you pay much more tax for the size of the engine.

 

I work at a dealership that's fairly prominent and very much in the know. the next LS will still have a V8 but that's all I know. rumor has it that it will be loosely based on the 5.0 that's currently lurking in the RCF and GSF that the LC500 will also get. lexus has always stuck with the first 2 numbers in the 3-digit model number as engine displacement. 250 = 2.5 300 = 3.0 330 = 3.3 350 = 3.5 400 = 4.0 you get the idea. the only part that gets murky are the hybrid models. 450h.. there is NOT a 4.5 in it, but the hybrid is supposedly the equivalent. I will agree the LS does need a V6 option in a base model like everybody else has. but a V6 in the LWB model? you gotta be kidding me! seriously that's one of the stupidest things ive ever heard. sounds more like a sales tactic saying "buy the Ls460L now because it still has the V8!!" to me. takes one to know one, and I used to be one. however the salespeople here actually do know there stuff for the most part and if they told something like that to a customer, it wouldn't be pretty. the next LS WILL have a 5.0 V8

 

Here's my suspicion having been in the automotive field, for Toyota even. It will have the 5.0 Liter available, at minimal for the U.S. market. If the other vehicles that currently have the 5.0 available DID NOT have a V8 available, then I think this discussion would have more merit. I own lots of cars. Not expensive cars, but cars. When it comes to a luxury flagship, I would NOT want it to have to scream it's guts out in order to make decent power. Most people around the world feel the same way. That's what makes a V8 so appealing (low-end torque) and Toyota of course knows this. But certain countries tax engines based on displacement, which creates a factor to go smaller. So, I believe they will keep the V8 for the U.S., and could have a smaller engine as an option. If a smaller engine is developed, it would be developed primarily based on other market objectives, but would be an option for the U.S. market. That's my take.