2021 Lexus IS will be the last IS sedan, next gen to be a Shooting Brake

Volkswagen is not the only car mainstream car maker that’s culling its sedans line-up. The current generation 2021 Lexus IS, which made its global preview earlier in June and will go on sale later this year as a 2021 model, will be the last Lexus IS sedan. This is according to a scoop by Japan’s Mag-X.

The Japanese publication went on to say that the 2021 Lexus IS was originally meant to be developed on the rear-wheel drive TNGA-L platform that currently underpins the Lexus LS, Lexus LC, and Toyota Crown, but plans had to be scrapped because it is too heavy, and would deviate from the IS sedan’s product concept as a light weight, compact, sports sedan.

Recall that the new 2021 Lexus IS is a heavily modified, updated version of the outgoing third generation XE30 Lexus IS. It also retains the previous Lexus IS’ 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, 2.5-litre four-cylinder hybrid, and 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V6.  

Still, the car was very well received by the Japanese press, and development work from Toyota’s Shimoyama circuit is evident.

Image scan by Creative Trend

The new IS is the first Lexus model to carry the “Lexus Driving Signature,” a result of driving dynamics honed by Takumi master test drivers at Toyota Technical Centre in Shimoyama, a test track which is almost like a scaled down version of Germany’s Nurburgring, and is the only one of its kind by any car manufacturer.

The model will be sold mainly in the US and Japan. The IS has since been discontinued in Malaysia, and it has also been pulled out of Europe.

According to Mag-X, for the next generation model Lexus will side-step the weight problem by introducing a new product concept - a Shooting Brake body style.

If the rumour is true, the Lexus IS shooting brake will be first Shooting Brake from a mainstream Japanese manufacturer in a very long time. The last model that comes to mind is the 1985 Honda Accord AeroDeck.

Accord AeroDeck is Japan's most iconic Shooting Brake

Remember that back in 2016, Toyota revived the idea of a Shooting Brake bodystyle with the one-off Toyota 86 Shooting Brake Concept. This is not a render, but a fully functioning 86 with an opening rear hatch.

Not a render. Toyota 86 Shooting Brake is a one-off, working car

Whether the new Shooting Brake model will retain the IS nameplate is still unclear.

What the hell is a Shooting Brake?

A Shooting Brake is a fancy name for a sporty-looking wagon. Originally it meant 2-door wagons (3 if you consider the hatch as a rear door) but since nobody could define what Shooting Brake actually meant, Mercedes-Benz launched its five-door CLA wagon as the CLA Shooting Brake. Later, Jaguar followed with the Jaguar XF Sportbrake, so things are very muddled now.

Mercedes-Benz CLA Shooting Brake

You can blame the British for the silly name, which somehow caught on and we are now stuck with it.

Jaguar insists this XF is not a wagon, but a Sportbrake

The term “Shooting Brake” originally referred to horse-drawn carriages, ones with an opening rear for hunting parties, which was a popular hobby among English aristocrats.

The word ‘Brake’ in Shooting Brake doesn’t refer to the part used to stop a car. Remember this was the pre-automobile era. Instead, it referred to a very specific type of carriage chassis.

Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake was not produced by the factory, but by independent coach builder Harold Radford

In the ‘50s and ‘60s, during the golden years of British cars, some British brands like Aston Martin and other independent coach builders (old British empire-era word for custom-made car bodies) thought it was cool to revive the Shooting Brake name.

What do we know about the 2023 Lexus IS?

The 2023 timeline suggested by Mag-X matches Mazda’s announcement that it will be introducing its own straight-six engine and a front engine-rear wheel drive (FR). The new engine and platform is expected to make its debut in the 2022 Mazda 6.

Mazda's President Akira Marumoto with Akio Toyoda. Akira is an engineer and dresses like one. Akio is a racer.

It’s common knowledge that Mazda and Toyota are now best of friends. President Akio Toyoda even competes in the Mazda MX-5 endurance race in Japan.

It’s rumoured that the next generation Lexus IS will share the same platform and engine as the Mazda 6, and the current heavily updated IS is a stop-gap measure until the Mazda FR platform and straight-six engine is ready.

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