We never thought Toyota would be bold enough to put the Lexus LF-LC concept into production, but now it seems that they will with juicy twin-turbo V8 power. But where will its platform come from? According to a new report, the much-anticipated but little-understood BMW-Toyota sports car teamup.
According to Automotive News' future product guide for the Toyota family, the joint venture between them and BMW will also spawn a Lexus version of what could very well be a revived Supra and the next Z4. There's no permalink to the guide, but here's what they report:
Likely to cost about $120,000, this 2+2 hybrid-powered coupe will be more akin to a high-performance LFA "lite," competing against the Mercedes-Benz SL, than a true supercar such as the LFA. It has been fast-tracked to arrive in early 2017 as a 2018 model. It will share considerable underpinnings with the upcoming Toyota vehicle based on the FT-1 concept and is being co-developed with BMW. Who will provide the engine is unknown, but both automakers are experimenting with turbocharging in a big way.
And 2017 is the date we've been hearing the new Supra and Z4 will debut, so this rumor makes some sense. As does the fact that Toyota would want to use this platform on other models, especially a production LF-LC, where it would fit really well.
But on the other hand, doesn't it seem odd that BMW would make a platform for Lexus, one of its biggest rivals? Then again, they and Toyota need to spread the costs around to make this work, and it's not likely that the Z4/Supra/LF-LC will be some huge volume seller.
Also, that's emphasis mine for the paragraph above, because it's yet another indication that the next Supra will be based on the Toyota FT-1 concept. I thought that concept was stunning, but it proved to be pretty controversial with a lot of people. Can the world handle a Supra that looks like the FT-1?
As always with Toyota-BMW sports car news, take all of this with a grain of salt until the car(s) are actually in dealer showrooms.