The coupe iteration of the latest Lexus IS will be with us much sooner than we originally thought. A company official speaking on condition of anonymity not only confirmed the name of the series as “RC”, but also told Automotive News that the coupe model will be revealed in the flesh at the Tokyo Motor Show in November and go on sale in the U.S. in late 2014.
The Lexus source added that the RC 350 version will feature the same 306hp 3.5-liter V6 as the IS 350, and as is the case with the sedan model, there will also be a hybrid version available in Japan and Europe, but not in the United States. While no details were provided, we assume the hybrid will utilize the same 178hp unit pairing a 2.5-liter inline-four to an electric motor as the IS 300h.
At the top of the range, you’ll find the RC F Coupe, a camouflaged prototype of which we showed you earlier this week, and which we spied again while running a few hot laps on the Nürburgring track. A Lexus official told the news site that the RC F will be powered by a new 460-hp V8 engine – the older IS F Sedan made use of a 416hp 5.0-liter V8.
As for the current IS Convertible, Lexus said that it will continue “on the previous-generation platform for the immediate future”.
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