Is Motor Trend right? Are we looking at a 4-year wait for the GS-F?

Many of us had taken for granted the notion that the next vehicle (other than the LF-A/GT500/LF-1 supercar) to receive the Lexus "F" treatment would be the current, 3rd-generation Lexus GS sedan. An article by Todd Lassa of Motor Trend magazine, however, turns that notion on its head. Lassa believes, instead, that Lexus will not launch the GS-F until one year after the fourth-generation GS' debut for the 2011 model year. Thus, Motor Trend predicts that the GS-F will debut for the 2012 model year, a whole 4 years after its smaller IS-F sibling. MT backs up this notion with the rendering above by Damon Moran, which looks like a predictable 3rd-gen Lexus GS/new IS-F mashup, and with the following article:

2012 Lexus GS-F: Toyota to build a V-10-powered M5-fighter
Take the 500-plus-horsepower, Formula 1-inspired sub-5.0-liter V-10 slated for the 2010 Lexus LF-A supercar, drop it in the body of the all-new 2011 GS sedan, and what've you got? The 2012 Lexus GS-F. Watch out, BMW M5, Audi RS6, Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG, and 2009 Cadillac CTS-V!

Details are sketchy, but engineers are said to be protecting the next-generation GS to be able to package the supercar's V-10. The GS-F apparently hasn't been approved for production. It would be a good idea, though, and not just for enthusiasts. It would cut engine costs through higher volume than by building it just for the exclusive supercar.

This also is official (kind of) notice that a V-10 has emerged as the engine Lexus will use in its supercar. Lexus hasn't announced the engine, or even made the supercar official, but Toyota was said to be considering either the V-10 or a twin-turbo version of the LS sedan's V-8. The new V-10 was to be Toyota Formula 1-based, but that series now uses a V-8, and the street engine has been developed with diminished connection to the racing engine.

The GS-F, if approved, would hit the streets about a year after an all-new GS scheduled for the 2011 model year. Expect visual mods similar to those of the forthcoming V-8-powered IS-F. Transmission is likely to be the eight-speed automatic from the LS 460, modified to allow full manual mode via paddles and ultrafast shifts.


Here's hoping that Lassa and Motor Trend are wrong, and that we'll see a GS-F offshoot of the current, 3rd-gen Lexus GS within the next year or so...