Lexus to Produce IS F Convertible; SC to Get Softtop Successor

Toyota’s luxury arm rounds out its roundel-sniping lineup.

BY JENS MEINERS, ILLUSTRATION BY YOSHI G
July 2009

On the heels of Lexus’s freshly launched IS C convertible, inside sources have told us that an IS F version is in the works for a launch in early 2011.

While the retractable hardtop IS convertible is comfortable, luxurious, and a good value against its German competition, it isn’t the most thrilling drive. Toting around some 400 pounds more than the sedan on which it’s based, the entry-level IS250C’s 2.5-liter V-6 has to be revved hard to achieve anything resembling quickness. The IS350C offers a decent amount of gusto, but in a segment populated by high-performance convertibles from BMW, Audi, and others, even that higher-spec IS droptop lags behind in terms of driving enjoyment.

The IS F version will hope to rectify that. Powered by the IS F sedan’s formidable 5.0-liter V-8 and equipped with a fast-shifting eight-speed automatic transmission, the IS F convertible will aim straight for the BMW M3 cabriolet, and it may give Mercedes reason to consider an AMG version of its new E-class coupe (which is actually based on the C-class, an IS competitor).

As to other Lexus droptops, the IS and IS F convertibles will not replace the SC430. That retractable hardtop convertible is now nearing the end of its life cycle, and it has been on the market so long that Lexus executives tell us the company has started with a “clean sheet of paper” for its replacement, which will likely switch to a cloth top. A roadster version of the will-they-or-won’t-they-build-it, hyper-expensive LF-A supercar, on the other hand, is increasingly unlikely, according to our sources.