Here’s an odd bit of conjecture: the next-generation Lexus IS, Japan’s answer to the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series, might be a recipient of the BMW B58 that has recently starred in the Toyota GR Supra. Why? That’s a tougher one to answer.
Regardless of the reactions it garners at first blush, Japan’s Best Car magazine asserts that an insider within Toyota has confirmed that the there’s is a probability that the incoming Lexus IS will gain a BMW-sourced 3.0-litre engine.
The prospect does seem a bit strange because the company’s luxury marque does not seem in need of such a powertrain, especially if it would merely be one of several engine options offered to the buyer. Instead of it being the heart of a flagship IS F, the publication hints at it’s unchanged output making a candidate to replace the 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6 in the present-day IS 350.
Rather, should the IS F make a return, a more suitable motor would be the V35A-FTS, a new 3.5-litre twin-turbocharged petrol engine that made its debut in the Lexus LS500, where it produces 310kW and 600Nm, very similar numbers to the previous IS F’s 5.0-litre atmospheric V8, which is no longer feasible from a fuel consumption and emissions perspective.
According to the article, the thinking behind slotting a BMW engine into a Lexus IS is to help it gain popularity and a newfound sporty image in the eyes of European buyers. Though, the reason why the Supra makes financial and logistical sense is because the new coupe is constructed in smaller numbers (relative to other Toyotas) alongside the BMW Z4, its sister car, in Austria by Magna Steyr.
Lexus cars have always been purely Japanese products in both execution and philosophy and so setting aside certain variants to be made abroad or having BMW engines shipped to Japan seems like a game of diminishing returns, potentially distancing itself from brand loyalists in the hope of gaining new fans and owners.
Supposedly, Lexus and Toyota admire the inherent ‘silkyness’ of an inline-6 as opposed to a V configuration, endowing it an added air of sophistication for luxury car applications. And since they lack such an engine of their own design, leveraging their technical partnership with BMW could be an option they are already exploring.
What could be on the cards is an agreement between BMW and Toyota to use their B58 motor as a design base to which a new engine can be developed and subsequently constructed in Japan, giving Toyota and Lexus a viable mid-tier engine that would be ideal in a variety of current models and beyond.
For more on Toyota and Lexus cars, check out our Showroom.
