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255-hp Toyota GR86 and other big news leaks in dealer presentation

Last month, Motor1 said it received information on Toyota and Lexus product plans for the next few years from an inside source who attended a dealer presentation. To protect the source, Motor1 didn't publish any slides or proof from that presentation. A snippet of what happened behind closed doors has found its way online, Allcarnews posting one of the slides yesterday, as well as its own recap of the Japanese automaker's plans that mirrors the Motor1 report. If all of this is true, not only is there a ton of product in the works, but Toyota and Lexus lineups will get more interesting while answering the requests of several enthusiast groups. We'll start with the 86, then go by model year after that. The next-gen coupe developed with Subaru should sit on Toyota's TNGA platform and get a rebrand to wear the GR86 name, for Toyota's Gazoo Racing division. The real hallelulah happens under the hood, where a turbocharged four-cylinder is expected to produce 255 hp, a 50-hp jump over the present model. Look for an upgraded interior, too. The debut is slated for summer 2021, possibly July.    This year: The fall season should introduce a new crossover and a new Sienna with hybrid powertrains only. The current minivan has been on sale since 2010, getting a minor refresh in front in 2018. The crossover will be a five-seat midsizer that brings back the Venza name, this model already rumored here and abroad. It, too, will only get hybrid powertrains. Both planned as 2021-model-year products, it's possible their motivations will be based on the 2.5-liter four-cylinder in both the RAV4 and Highlander hybrids. And a refreshed Camry might come later this year as a 2021MY sedan.  2021: Next year will be a busy one. ... On the Toyota side, and as TFL has reported, the all-new Tundra that's first to sit on the TNGA-F truck platform will show in December 2021 as a 2022MY pickup. Rumor has the top model powered by a 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 hybrid with around 455 hp and 500 pound-feet of torque, perhaps distinguished by the i-Force Max name that Toyota recently applied to trademark. A few months before that, Toyota will roll out a Corolla-based crossover maybe called the Corolla Cross, and potentially built in the U.S. at the Alabama facility being constructed with Mazda. And remember, a Toyota exec teased a small hot hatch for this market as well, "an answer" to the GR Yaris sold in Europe, which Car and Driver figures will be based on the Corolla.

Toyota will bring Lexus-based Platform 3.0 autonomous vehicle to CES

The Toyota Research Institute says it will bring its next-generation Platform 3.0 automated driving vehicle to CES next week, an autonomous test car that is notable for incorporating the sensors and cameras into the body, rather than as ungainly attachments, and with the spinning LIDAR rooftop sensor replaced by a more sleek panel of sensors. Platform 3.0 is built on a Lexus LS600hL. Toyota Research Institute says it enlisted CALTY Design Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. and engineers at Toyota's nearby North America R&D center to conceal the equipment. As a result, Platform 3.0 gets a new rooftop weather and temperature proof panel, which it says was inspired by off-road motorcycle helmets, integrated into the available space in the sunroof compartment to minimize height. It's also embellished with chrome trim along the side, where it meets the roofline, and the rear swoops down to integrate with the LS's contour lines. The team also managed to consolidate computational electronics and wiring into a small box in the trunk. Toyota says the Platform 3.0 is one of the most perceptive autonomous test vehicles on the road today, with a design makes the test vehicle easy to build at scale. It gets a Luminar LIDAR system boasting a 200-meter, 360-degree range (the previous version only tracked the forward direction), enabled by four high-res LIDAR scanning heads that help it better see dark objects. Shorter-range LIDAR sensors feature low on all four sides of the vehicle, one on each front quarter panel and on the front and rear bumpers, to detect low-level and smaller objects, like children or road debris. Production begins this spring at the Toyota Motor North America R&D headquarters at low volumes to allow for flexibility, given the rapid rate of development of Toyota's autonomous test platforms. Some will be assembled using Toyota's Guardian dual-cockpit control layout to allow for transferring control between a human test driver and the automated system while keeping the driver as a backup, while the single-cockpit, fully autonomous Chauffeur mode will be shown at CES starting Jan. 9.Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Least favorite vehicles of 2017

Lexus trademarks enigmatic LX 600 nameplate

An American trademark filing suggests Lexus is about to expand its lineup of SUVs with a range-topping model named LX 600. The new nameplate asks many more questions than it answers. Discovered by AutoGuide, the filing seemingly corresponds to a stronger evolution of the Toyota Land Cruiser-based LX 570 that currently occupies the top spot in the Lexus SUV hierarchy. LX is, of course, the model, while 570 denotes the presence of a 5.7-liter V8 under the hood. By that logic, an LX 600 should have a 6.0-liter engine, and very likely a V8; we can't imagine Lexus selling an LX with 10 or 12 cylinders, for better or worse, and a 6.0-liter V6 would be a mammoth of an engine. One of the question marks hovering around the filing is whether 600 actually corresponds to the engine's displacement. There isn't a 5.0-liter V8 between the LS 500's fenders; it's powered by a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-liter V6. Carmakers are moving away from large-displacement engines to comply with looming emissions norms, and Toyota is on the front lines, so the theory of a 6.0-liter V8 in a Lexus flagship — even one that's relatively old-school — struggles to hold water. An earlier report claims the next-generation Toyota Land Cruiser will ditch its V8 in favor of the aforementioned V6, and it might be available with the LS 500h's gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. The LX has always been nearly identical to the Land Cruiser in the engine bay, so it will likely surf the downsizing wave, too. Our intuition tells us 600 is too high for the base model, and the flagship hybrid would logically be dubbed 600h. Here again, we've reached a body-on-frame cul-de-sac. We can't forget about the possibility that Lexus will not slap the LX 600 nameplate on anything. Automakers routinely trademark names to protect them without planning on using them. The company hasn't commented on the trademark filings, and it hasn't shed light on the next-generation LX, so the speculation will continue until official information emerges. It's tentatively scheduled to make its debut in 2021, and arrive in showrooms in 2022, about a year after the new Land Cruiser. Featured Gallery 2019 Lexus LX 570 View 42 Photos Auto News Lexus SUV Luxury