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Toyota Hilux gets heart transplant from Lexus IS F

The Toyota Hilux might not be sold in the US, but Toyota's venerable pickup has an international reputation of being able to go anywhere and do just about anything. The trucks aren't really known for their speed, though, at least until Toyota South Africa Motorsport's new, one-off project. This bruiser ditches the usual diesel engine and replaces it with an unrestricted 5.0-liter V8 from a Lexus IS F making 449 horsepower. Of course, it takes more than power to handle the rigors of high speed off-roading. The motorsport team also adds bigger, competition-spec brakes, fully adjustable dampers, new springs, and retuned gearing to make the truck look practically ready for the Dakar Rally. The gearbox is really the only part that carries over. The V8 gives the special Hilux quite a mean growl, too. With the new Tacoma just launching in the US, maybe the engineers at TRD need to apply this same concept over here for its own Lexus-engined, one-off pickup.

Lexus LY 650 luxury yacht is its fourth flagship

Earlier, Lexus teased a "fourth flagship" vehicle, in addition to the LS sedan, LX SUV and LC coupe. We wondered what it could be. Production version of the LF-1 Limitless? But what's that little cylinder? Lexus cologne? Well, Lexus' fourth flagship is literally more like a ship. It's the LY 650 luxury yacht. The 65.5-foot yacht has three staterooms, three heads, and it sleeps six people. It's powered by the choice of a Volvo IPS 1200 or Volvo IPS 1350 marine engine, and can hold 1,000 gallons of fuel. View 15 Photos Lexus says the LY 650's creation was inspired by positive public reception to the 42-foot Lexus Sport Yacht Concept. And it joins a crowded ocean of luxurious yachts and/or submersibles from Porsche, Bugatti, Migaloo and Aston Martin. Lexus tapped Wisconsin-based Marquis-Larson Boat Group to build, sell and service the luxurious boat. While this wasn't quite the new Lexus flagship we expected, it certainly is beautiful. We hope we get a chance to climb aboard soon. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

This is what a Lexus RC-based 'four-door coupe' might look like

It feels like there is a secret law in Germany mandating that every domestic automaker there must offer at least one model with a four-door coupe bodystyle like the BMW Gran Coupes, Mercedes-Benz CLS and Audi A7. Several of the German brands even have the swoopy sedans in multiple sizes. So far, Lexus has stayed out of that fray, but maybe not for long, if a recently spotted test car makes it to market.
The brand is known to be testing a highly styled four-door coupe, roughly the size of the GS, under heavy camouflage. Little is known about the new model at the moment, but its existence makes sense. If it really wants to take the on Germans, Lexus is going to have to fight them toe-to-toe with competing models - especially with ones understood to have high margins.
Pictured above is a rendering from artist Theophilus Chin imagining a slightly smaller take on the genre based on the RC coupe, which he calls the RC GT. His design leaves the original shape almost untouched, but shortens the front doors to allow room for a rear doors under the arching roof. His GT would be aimed more against the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe and rumored Mercedes-Benz C-Class four-door coupe, rather than the larger models Lexus actually appears to be targeting with its vehicle under development. His concept certainly nails the look, though, and while it might not have a basis in reality, we thought that it's well-resolved enough that you'd want to take a look, if only as a "what could've been" flight of fancy.