This could be Japanese-only news, or just a case of bad translation, but Toyota Managing Officer Toshio Furutani has apparently told Japan's Nikkei Business News that Toyota wants every vehicle in the Lexus product line to offer a hybrid option, and that "in the medium to long term, Toyota was considering making the Lexus lineup hybrid-only." That sounds like he could mean Lexus, period, all over the world. But our questions come from the fact that the same report said that the Nikkei listed only the LS and GS models as currently available with a hybrid option, neglecting to mention the RX. And the fact that for Lexus to offer only hybrids in the U.S. would be an eyebrow-arching brand decision. Not that there isn't anyone out there in the market for a hybrid IS-F, but would you really risk it? We'll wait for a follow-up from someone at Toyota, or we'll just assume Furutani's comments were meant for other ears than ours.
Here's a juicy one. BMW Blog reports that it has two unnamed, independent sources who have spoken of a high-revving (how does 11,000 rpm sit with you?) new four-cylinder being developed for use in the 1-series. The power target of this fantasy mill is said to be 220 to 260 horsepower, and it would theoretically be offered in both naturally aspirated and twin-turbocharged forms.
If this rumor actually comes to pass (something that is far from guaranteed, to say the least), we're told to expect a 2010 release. Take it all with a very healthy dose of salt. That said, squeezing more power out of less engine is going to be a continuing trend as governments tighten the screws regarding fuel economy and emissions targets, so efforts from BMW in this realm wouldn't be the least bit surprising. We hope this rumor comes true, if only to be able to point to a shiny new 1-series coupe and say, "Ours goes to eleven... thousand."
According to the Yomiyuri Shimbun newspaper, Toyota is considering a return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010 with a hybrid racing car. This seems like a natural progression for the automaker, which has entered hybrids in the last two Tokachi 24-hour enduros in Japan, winning it last year with a retired Supra Super GT car that was retrofitted with a hybrid system. The Denso SARD Supra HV-R had a single electric motor for the rear wheels and in-wheel motors up front. Toyota says that its future results in F1 have a bearing on whether it will follow through with a Le Mans bid, but let's be serious for a moment. Toyota's F1 experiment has been an exercise in futility, and with the recently-announced 10 5-year freeze on F1 engine development, the writing is on the wall for Toyota to pursue other motorsports avenues, especially if it wants to use racing as a laboratory for street technology. Sports car racing is a much better bet in this regard, as has been shown by automakers like Audi, who races and wins under diesel power, and Chevrolet, who has used the Corvette Racing effort to similar effect. A Toyota win at Le Mans under hybrid power would also elevate that particular green technology's profile in Europe, where it still plays second fiddle to diesel. Toyota's last factory-backed Le Mans effort occurred in 1999, when one of the automaker's GT-ONE racers finished second overall.
