Rumors surrounding the next Lexus IS are abundant, and now it is becoming clear that the car will take a serious departure from its current form.
”When you’re a challenger brand and you’re number four [in sales], you can’t afford to be evolutionary,” said Peter Evans, a marketing manager at Lexus Australia. This comment re-enforces the fact that the new IS will be sportier, and more focused on delivering the goods when it comes to performance.
There is a possibility that the new IS will ride on the GT86 platform, which could then spawn a much sportier coupe version. Using this existing platform would cut some costs, but adapting the frame to run with the IS would likely be an expensive process. An IS F (2012 IS-F shown) will no doubt come further down the line, which would also benefit from the GT86 chassis.
“On the IS we realized it needs to be more focused,” said Ketan Renade, Lexus product planner for the ES and LS. While rivals have carefully balanced the hard-edge performance wants with luxury ride quality, “The IS doesn’t have to play a comfort role for us.”
For style, the IS will ride with a wider more aggressive stance, and the most radically designed spindle grille yet. Because of its sales positioning, the Lexus designers have lots of room to make the new IS something that is completely evolutionary.