First born in 1998, the Lexus IS has, up until now, been the stylish entry-level gasoline-powered or hybridized sedan of the Lexus lineup. But a revolution is coming for the baby Lexus as it will morph into a fully-fledged battery electric vehicle (BEV) within the next few years.
As you can see in this artist’s impression image here courtesy of Japan’s Best Car magazine, the next generation model should adopt Lexus’s new more subtle spindle grille—that incorporates the body color into the grille giving it a more elegant look—and a high waistline, contoured sides and sleek, sharp headlights. Offering smooth, aerodynamic curves, the new IS is rumored to deliver a Cd figure of under 0.20 making it one of the most aerodynamic cars ever.
The futuristic model will sit on a new platform and be propelled by a next-generation solid-state battery setup to be reportedly built by Idemitsu Kosan Co who partnered with Toyota late last year to construct solid-state batteries for its future EVs.
New IS could employ RZ powertrain
Whether the all-new IS will employ the powertrain from Lexus’s only current production EV — the RZ450e — is still unclear, but we expect it to lean towards the RZ’s hardware. That means that the new IS could employ a choice of either a single electric motor on its front axle delivering 201 horsepower and range of 266 miles, or a dual-motor setup that spreads 308 horses among all four wheels and range of 240 miles.
Now a surprise perhaps, but in keeping with Toyota’s bent on offering a wide choice of powertrains, to satisfy a wide range of motorist’s tastes, we can also expect the IS to offer a 350-hp plus gasoline turbo spec in addition to the fully electric version.
We are also hearing that the new IS will employ Toyota’s all-new Arene operating system (OS) which integrates a vehicle’s domains, allowing the automaker to offer richer, more holistic customer experiences that draw from across the vehicle’s capabilities. The Arene platform is designed to make use of vehicle data and OTA (Over-The-Air) updates which allow software improvements to continue after-market based on in-market insights, thus extending the value of the vehicle. Expect the IS’s launch by late 2026.