2024 Lexus LBX <\/h3>\n
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Interestingly, the report goes on to say the spicy Lexus crossover will optionally be offered with Toyota’s upcoming eight-speed, torque-converter automatic gearbox. It’s unclear whether the high-performance LBX will get the GR Corolla’s full power or it’s going to be aligned with the GR Yaris. The latter is believed to get some extra oomph as well as that new “Direct Automatic Transmission”\u00a0Toyota has been praising lately.<\/p>\n
Although it’s only a rumor at this point, there is some substance to it. This week, Lexus announced plans to introduce a “performance model” of the LBX in January at the 2024 Tokyo Auto Salon. It will have a \u201cstrengthened powertrain\u201d compared to the hybrid 1.5-liter engine of the regular model with its 134 hp and 136 lb-ft (185 Nm). If the GR Yaris’ engine is indeed planned, it’ll have roughly twice the power of the standard model.<\/p>\n
We’d be glad to see this engine in other cars beyond the GR Yaris and GR Corolla but in a sports coupe, hatch, or sedan rather than a crossover. Ideally, a GR86 with the\u00a0G16E would be great. Come to think of it, Toyota has built a few of these cars but strictly as\u00a0testbeds for carbon-neutral fuels. It might happen one day, per a statement made in September 2022 by\u00a0Gazoo Racing’s chief engineer Naoyuki Sakamoto:<\/p>\n
“Yes, we are thinking for the future about the possibility of using it, but there are no concrete plans at the moment. For now, we’re just using it to develop carbon-neutral fuels.”<\/p>\n