We have heard about it but never seen it up until now; a hardtop convertible version of the high-performance Lexus IS-F, which was spotted by our scoop photographers doing the rounds at the ‘Ring.
The prototype convertible model seen here adopts all the styling cues of the V8-powered IS-F such as the swollen wheel arches, front fender vents, the modified front and rear bumpers, the quad tailpipes and then some more in the guise of the massive rear wing and special alloy wheels.
But wait, isn’t the current IS series nearing the end of its line with a replacement due to make an appearance within the next year?
Yes it is, which makes the additional spy shots obtained by Edmunds of particular interest.
The crew from KGP Photography was able to snap a few pictures of the undercarriage of the same prototype shown in our gallery.
Those images suggest that this model may be riding on the next IS-F’s chassis as it featured new aluminum lower control arms instead of the steel arms found on the current IS-F along with some other changes including the new rear toe adjuster and rear-steer ball joint.
Edmunds believes that the prototype’s rear suspension is an adaption of the one used by the 2013 Lexus GS sedan.
What all this means is that Lexus may very well be using the current IS Convertible’s body to cover up the next IS-F’s platform. Now, if the company is planning to introduce both a sedan and a convertible version of the next IS-F is another story that we will have to wait to find out.
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoop
PHOTO GALLERY
