Lexus is gearing up to launch a new version of its long-lived IS hybrid saloon. The new IS will be revealed in full next week, on the 10th of June, but for now, we have to be satisfied with this darkened, mysterious photograph of the back end. Mind you, all of this is for naught for Irish customers, as the new IS won't be coming here. Lexus Ireland has confirmed to us that the market shift towards SUVs means that there's no room in its lineup for a new IS. Most IS buyers are already moving to the NX crossover anyway, and we have been told that anyone who doesn't fancy an SUV will be nudged towards the ES saloon instead.
Full-width lights
It shows a dramatic full-width light bar, rather similar in style to that used by the UX crossover. Beyond that, we can't tell very much of how the car will look, but we can predict - with reasonable certainty, that it will look very similar to the current model.
Re-using the existing platform
That's because instead of shifting the IS to the new TNGA platform, as used by the UX and the larger ES, the IS will stick with its old rear-wheel drive platform, in spite of that chassis having first been launched in 2013. Lexus is doing that for a couple of reasons - first, the company believes that it needs rear-wheel drive dynamics to be able to compete with the BMW 3 Series, and second; there's no appetite for major investment in a new rear-drive saloon platform given that most buyers are now switching to SUVs.
Indeed, in recent years, the NX crossover has overtaken the IS saloon as Lexus' best-selling car, so in one sense we're lucky to be getting a new (or at least heavily revised) IS at all. Lexus was reported at one point as looking to kill the model off entirely.
Hybrid system upgrade
The hybrid system, which uses a 2.5-litre petrol engine and an electric motor, will likely be carried over unchanged, aside from some updates to improve economy and CO2 emissions. Other engine options, including the 2.0-litre turbo petrol and a V6 petrol, will be carried over as well. There are rumours that Lexus will launch a last-hurrah high-performance IS-F model, using either the LS saloon's 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 engine, or the LC 500 Coupe's naturally-aspirated V8, but, as we say, those are just rumours for now.
We'll have more details, and more solid information, next week.