sshu

Yeah, I was shocked to hear it also but it was from my friend who works at a dealer. I asked him what Lexus is planning on but he didn't know. Will they drop the V-8? This doesn't make sense to me, I guess we won't for sure until they announce the 2007 line up. This info may have been passed to him to boost 430 sales....I don't know. Does anybody have any anything which can prove or discredit this info?

Thanks,

Scott

ps: The GS350 is obviously a go...

LexFather

Its not like have put the new engine in the 3GS but it will fit. It will probably fit the IS too.

Gojirra99

There are too many clueless salesmen that I' ve seen to give this much credence . . .

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I hope that is incorrect information. My thought is that it is. I don't believe Lexus/Toyota would design the 3rd gen GS without factoring in the upgraded future engine. I had always thought the old GS430 engine was used in the 06 GS430 simply as a stop gap until the new engines were develped and ready. If that is true, that means they very well knew and probably had the new 4.6L V8 in the works and should have designed enough room under the hood for it to fit. It doesn't really make sense that they would design and engine bay that could only accept a nearly 10 year old engine which was upgraded from an engine designed for the 1990 LS.

GFerg

nah...that saleman is not convincing me at all.

Rockville

in another thread. There is no definite plan for the GS460. The GS450h surpasses the GS430 in performance and beats most of the V8's in its market. The GS430 is now a special order only car in the Eastern region. We have only two left and none allocated for March. They will dry up and that will be the last of the GS430's. The GS450 is the fastest car to date made by Lexus and will wrest the crown from the lovable IS350. How about an IS450h? The GS350 will arrive next and that will also lessen the performance need for the GS430. The shocking thing that was published in the Car and Driver was the prediction of 2,000 units per year of the GS450h. I already have 2 orders in and more interested every day so this could get ugly.....The much anticipated GS460 may be stillborn....

Rock

IE_Dave

I just asked my source this past weekend about the 460 and he said that the only question about this car is the marketing strategy. This person is fairly high up in the Lexus management chain and told me we should look for a spring 07 release.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the gs450h is a great car, will be a good market for lexus, however i really don't see it "replacing" the v8. dropping the v8 on the gs would be a mistake imho.

and it would be really funny if the 430 engine fits but not the 460 engine. it must be A LOT bigger.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I agree. As much as I hate it when people keep saying Acura is nothing until they get a V8, I have to agree that if Lexus drops the V8 from the GS line no matte how good the performance is of the V6 hybrid GS450H, it would be a huge mistake.

Rockville

when the model name was registered in Nov. 2004. Every other model that was registered except the JX470 has or will be released so like everyone else I assumed that it was just a matter of time until the next gen. V8's would be implemented in first the LS, then GS and then SC. I don't think that space in the engine compartment is the problem but marketing two cars with similar characteristics at the same price area. If you had to make a choice to simplify the situation you would pick the superior version. The release of the second Hybrid Lexus has created a boutique car that is unlike anything else on the market. The reaction to the GS450h might be what the Lexus strategists will need to decide if there is room for another high performance GS. The GS430's were selling well and then production slowed to a trickle. This is unfortunate for the GS460 because if they point to the sales numbers it will show a low volume. The GS460 would not require much new engineering other than the active suspension could be used from the GS450h. I think that the GS460 would have to show performance separation from the GS450h and that may easier said than done. The fact that Lexus wants to enlarge its market share in the sport sedan market now is the best case support that it will produce the GS460. The Euros have E55's and M5's at the pinnacle of their midsize performance sedans. Will Lexus enter this fray just to make all of us and the magazines happy? Send Jim Press your deposits folks or at least an email. Next phase..a peaceful demonstration...

Rock

RON430

Whether there is a marketing issue here, or not, is an interesting discussion. But to believe that someone who "works at a dealer" found out that Lexus had fully intended to put the 460 in the GS but just recently "discovered" it wouldn't fit (Obviously Toyota/Lexus has never generated enough revenue to have any CAD/CAM capability) just pushes the limit of exactly how baseless rumors can be to still get their internet time. They could get the 430 in the last gen IS but the 460 is too big to replace the 430 in the GS? This one has alredy generated more response than it probably deserves.

XeroK00L

Yep this has to the only possible reason.

GFerg

Good point. The difference in engine sizes with the 300 and 430 were huge. And the IS series is considerably smaller than the GS. A small .3L bump should not make that big of a difference. Once again, its really not that convincing to me. And said in another thread, marketing probably has a lot to deal with when the GS460 will get here. I'm sure an early 2007 release would be key.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

I think it may confuse people to have a GS350, GS450h and a GS460, espcially if the GS460 costs less and is more powerful.

The comment about the acura not having a V8 is inaccurate. Acura gets flack because their cars do not have any torque, are mostly FWD, and they are not as refined.

Moving from a V8 to a V6 hybrid is a smart move. A V8 is not as much a sign of luxury as it is a sign of excess. V8s have a stigma of wasting gas, and its old tech. Plus the world is a lot more consience about fuel consumption, just ask GM and ford.

A powerful V6 hybrid is where its at, a sign of technology advancements, fuel efficiency and it is pretty powerful as well. Toyota is working very hard to have people equate toyota and hybrids/ fuel effeciency.

I wouldnt doubt that they phase out the 460 from the GS.

Gojirra99

They ' ve already trademarked the GS460 in many countries . . .

Plus I don't think a big enough % of the public want hybrids yet, especially a performance hybrid . . . many still leery of them. So the GS460 in the line-up is still very much needed.