blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

at least the GS should be faster than IS350?? I think new IS350 with 306 HP is pretty fast??

GS430X6

Could not have said it better myself.

jrock65

I'm really curious to see how they price this thing.

Gojirra99

If it only comes loaded like the RX400h, then I expect the GS450h would be priced slightly higher than the GS430.

looknow12

With gas prices closing in on $4, Lexus is making the right decisions.

Faraaz23

Feel free to chime in and correct me if I'm mistaken, but I remember reading somewhere here on CL that in the RX400h, the 3.3L gas-engine wasn't running as high of hp as in the normal RX330. Is it safe to assume that the 3.5L will be making less than the 306hp in the IS? Say 280ish or something?

Also, I'm curious to see how much juice the electric motor of this GS450h is going to have. I believe I also read in a member-review of the RX400h (it may have been 1Sick's, not positive) that you get a 8-10 second long burst of power from the electric motor before it needs to recharge. So considering this is a "high-performance" model, It may run out of juice on track straightaways.

What do you all think?

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

I guess you weren't on this board when you bought your new GS because we've been talking about GS350, GS450h and GS460 for ages.

Lexus launched the new GS300 and GS430 because newer engines weren't ready. The 4.3 is a wonderful engine and the new 3.0 is a significant step beyond the old 3.0 delivering more power and better fuel economy. I personally think they should have waited because it may devalue resale of those models a lot when the 3.5, hybrid and 4.6 engines come along, but it was a tough call with the 2nd gen getting long in the tooth with low sales.

BrickHead

When is the Frankfurt auto show? I think the rising gas price will boost the hybrid sales. I hope Lexus will put a hybrid system in the GX, LX, and the coming VX/JX.

chicagoblknazn

I'm sure they will. That technology will push them way far ahead of the competition, especially with the gas situation here being as it is.

BlueIS05

Looks like the GS450h will have 340hp. Scroll down to the Lexus section here:

http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=103106

XeroK00L

Good find.

Although Autoweek may not have been always accurate with their reports, 340hp does sound very reasonable, given the other rumors about the upcoming 4.6L V8 being able to produce 350hp and Lexus naming the GS hybrid with a "450" number, indicating an output that's slightly less than the "460".

Gojirra99

The power meter that replaces the the traditional tachometer in the GS450h might give you some idea of what the hp of the car will be. 1 hp~= 0.75 KW . . . . . . .

BrickHead

That's awesome news. I guess it's reasonable to assume the GS460 will have more than 340HP.

XeroK00L

Yeah I remember that, but the power meter may not necessarily need to match the actual peak power, just like how most speedometers are usually marked with higher numbers than the cars' actual top speeds.

275kW =~ 366hp. Can't say 366hp is impossible but that'll almost mean that the GS460 has to produce even more than that, since Lexus says they named the GS hybrid 450h because it "has the power equivalent to that of a 4.5L V8". That's a lot for something coming from Lexus.

Then again, as mentioned in my earlier post regarding GS450h, it CAN produce 366hp providing that the electirc motors are as strong as those in the RX400h AND the gas motor isn't detuned for better emission and gas mileage. After all, the 3.5L V6 is already pushing 306hp in the IS350, and the electric motors in the RX400h are producing 60hp (268hp - 208hp), totalling exactly 366hp!

So there, you have the arguments for both.

looknow12

The 400h's power meter only goes to 200 so this may indicate a more powerful electric motor/system.